Hibana, The Fire Flower
by lazyfrogofjustice
Summary: 14 years ago a notorious villain known as Jade found a baby amidst a devastating tragedy. A small girl with both the power to build and destroy has awakened her potential. The only question is, whether she would take the path of peace or succumb to the depths of chaos in which she came from. The Fire Flower's Story Begins... (MHA AU w/OC INKO) NOW AT VOL.2
1. Prologue

Hibana, The Fire Flower

Prologue

21:46 hours…

A woman was walking alone in an alleyway. It had been the height of night in its fullest. Activity was everywhere. People walked along in strides as the usual things followed. Night life as the youngsters said was a particular thing that she noticed, from bars to clubs everything seemed to be in place. Energetic, lively and sometimes chaotic. Some shops and stalls have closed by now. Some stay as the working man or woman kept at it to have their daily income sustainable. Cars roamed free in the city. News had been at the very usual of things. Rummaging from simple tales of economy, crime, or even some good news if lucky. Rich people being in their own plane of existence was also appreciated.

All in all, it seemed to be a quiet but lively night. Much to her amusement, it was perfect for her situation. No one would bat an eye if something happened. Sure, there are some cases in which some people would care to see their surroundings, but for now, it had been relegated to a simple thought that it was everyone's own business to attend to. The likelihood of someone noticing was low. It would be null and void in the morning, but doing things this way made it far more satisfying… and exciting too.

Which is why she enjoyed nights like these. Working on them was nothing short but exemplary.

She was prepared for tonight. She was sure of it. The job was simple, take something from someone's hands and return in it to the client. That was it.

And the reward associated with it was very appealing. The number of zeroes plastered on the price tag of the job was something even she would not ignore, and she even proclaimed herself to be the picky one when it came to jobs like these.

Well, in this case for now. Her usual soiree was "wetwork". She enjoyed taking out jobs like that, and it gave her menial to less eyes peeking into her work. She was proud of it, having been known to be very discreet and leaving no trace in her name for others to follow.

Others would consider flashier jobs, bank robberies and organized strikes to accept with. A displeased thought came into her mind when she thought about those fools who took the bait. Sure, the money on those types of works are really high in number, not to mention the skill and expertise needed to successfully pull off such things were commendable. Alas, they had one flaw, and it was exposure. Lots of eyes were drawn to big things, and with that comes danger. People tend to flock more to flashier things than smaller occurrences in the night.

With that saying of course, it did not mean that she was not exposed one or a few other times in her whole career. She had gone through six iterations of covers throughout her lifespan and never stayed in one spot. When she was in the spotlight, it had been for the results of her jobs. Attracting small to big-shot names of people in the system of justice that pursued her.

But…

None of those that did in fact pursue her survived nor were seen again. She took pride in that sense that she was a self-proclaimed master of stealth and tact that also came with the appropriate title of strength. None in this current time would dare to follow her footsteps to bring her to justice, some still do, but those were either in the decent or strong side of the spectrum. It did not matter.

She enjoyed a good fight from time to time.

For now, she would do this job. She had to admit, the first time she heard of this job surprised her. Not only for the large sum of money involved, but also the mere fact that the client in itself was anonymous. She did not like that. Usually speaking, she was known for having every detail of the job printed into her brain to accept it. She would even take days to research said job to its fullest. Learning the client, the schematics, the sum of the reward, and the approach to it. She had two of those removed from her normal check, namely information about the client and the approach to the objective.

She hated not knowing things. Uncertainty was a large flaw in her plans. Too many things can go out of hand if left to themselves. Which is why she was being reluctant to take it.

Although the amount of money involved made her to take the job. At least until she would get the target, she would know more of their client. Money was a bit scarce these days, she needed a large sum to sustain her for months on end. The job seemed to be the only thing available to compensate that need. Still, the amount of mystery surrounding this made her uneasy.

There was one detail that she did in fact know. Said job ordered the taking of a special individual, and to her luck there were small but enough details to follow through. One being the individual had red crimson hair, and that it was young.

Normally she did not mind doing jobs that included vague descriptions, but it did make her wonder why the description was 'young'. It made this easy of course. Younger individuals are easy to take and when she reluctantly accepted the job, she was given a device in hand to track said individual.

Such a device led her here now… an abandoned warehouse just in the outskirts of the city. Near the silent sounds of the sea by the docks. The company that managed this side of the city was long gone. Profits and whatnot had forced it to shut down. Now, it was a rotting field full of unused buildings and dusty old equipment of a once used supply dock.

She stood by the fenced perimeter of the place. She took out the tracker that was placed in one of the pouches of her belt. It still beeped in harmony, though faster this time. It also had a large indicator that said the target was close.

Cold winds came to her stead as she stood there. The sound of the waves was the only thing in the forefront. With the bustling of the city in the background. Not a lot of people walked nor drove in this part of the city. Only street lights were the source of illumination. She looked around.

"Let's get this over with." She muttered to herself.

Slowly walking over to the fence, she took out bolt cutters from the satchel she brought. After cutting it at a moderate pace to give her a big enough opening to go into, she entered the perimeter fence. She began to notice that it seemed to be too quiet for her likes.

She started to second guess and worry that this was a trap. Which is why she had contingencies in place. For now, she would worry the job to be completed and when something does in fact happen she would be ready for it.

She then started to walk towards the buildings as she took the device again to see where she needed to go. During this ordeal, she threw the bolt cutter in the air and within less of a second the whole tool was disassembled by an invisible force into its individual original pieces and flung into all directions across the pier. Leaving little to no trace that such a tool was used.

She squinted after the object was gone. A little focus from her was all it needed to do that.

She walked closer to the target's signature. She then saw that she was getting closer as she opened a dusty old door to enter one of the few warehouses in this dock. As she entered inside she saw that the entire place was dark, without any form of light as illumination.

"This just gets better and better." She said with a deadpan sarcasm.

She strode in without a care as she closed the door behind her. Walking in a straight line, not even bothering with the darkened place as if she could see in the dark. She wondered why such a target lived or why he or she was in this place. If such individual was important, why was it here in all places?

It did make her all the more worried. This did not bode well to her tastes. She would need to have a word with the said client soon and maybe she could double its price too. Hazard pay was indeed a thing both legally and illegally speaking.

As soon as the beeping continued, she sensed an itch in her senses. Someone or something was here. She sighed to herself, an annoyed look on her senses as she took a mask from her satchel and placed it on her face. The mask in itself was a simple white color in design, with two incisions for her vision, and a protruding horn like structure that jutted from the forehead.

She then took off the satchel threw it to the ground next to her. She put a hand on her hip as she surveyed the area. A bored and annoyed expression on her face that was hidden by the mask took fruit.

"Six… six of you are here." She said out aloud.

There was silence. She looked around once again, she could not see in the dark but her senses felt something hiding in it. She shrugged in response when no one or nothing spoke. Then something shot out from the satchel placed on the ground. It hit her hand in an instant. A cylindrical vial filled with liquid that shook when she closely looked at it. She could feel the liquid churn in her senses, she then opened it and poured the liquid in a circular motion around her. She then threw the vial aside and a metal-cased lighter flew into her hands in an instant. She turned it on.

"This is your last warning. Show yourselves to me or I'll burn this place down. With the target included." She threatened with a firm tone as she stood there. The only light source came from her lighter that blew its flame to the light breeze.

She still had no response and she grumbled underneath the mask. She was about to throw the lighter to the ground to prove her point when a knife-like object flew towards her. Only stopped a few inches away from her mask.

"I'm surprised you caught that." She heard a voice say.

She then felt the six figures to advance towards her. The only sound was their heavy footsteps that came with each figure. She gritted her teeth yet again in realization for her folly. Surely the reward was high and it did not just attract her in taking the job. Yet, she had taken care of competition before but right now she was not in the mood.

Then suddenly a man in a large trench coat walked over in view of the faint light of the lighter. He had a gruff look on his face and a scar that ran across one of his eyes. She saw that no visible color was in that eye, a clear indication of being blind there. He was taller than her by a small amount.

"Not gonna say anything? I thought you were threatening us there a minute ago." He said again to her. She then saw that five other individuals came into the faint light. She saw a skinny but lean-built man clad in a black form fitting suit that was comprised of knife-like objects sheathed into his suit all across his body. He had long hair and his red eyes complete with a mask covering his mouth was seen. Another was a woman with feline-like features (with protruding cat ears) dressed skimpily with skin exposed in some certain areas that made her feel like a hooker only with nine tails. Another was a small man with what seemed to have grayish hands and some parts of his face and body was melded with that material. He only wore shorts too. The last one was an insect-based person with mantis-like appendages for arms and insect wings by his back. Seeing them all one by one gave her one feeling in mind.

The blade hovering by her head was suddenly fractured and brought to small pieces afterwards.

"What's left to say anyway?" she said in a deadpan tone towards what she assumed to be the leader. She looked up and saw his eyes full of slight anger towards the unamused comment.

"You think we're scared of you?" he said.

"No… I never thought of it that way. Though disappointed is the correct term I would have used on you and your… whatever this is."

The man then suddenly grew in size a bit. His skin now hardening in what seemed to be rock or a steel-like substance. She never flinched but stared at him all the same.

"You disappointed still? Or should I show you why you shouldn't mess with me bitch?" he said to her in a threatening fashion. He crunched his knuckles as they stared down on each other.

"Do you really want me to do this?" she asked. Her single comment made the big brute angrier in the process. He towered over her with both fists ready to pummel her into the ground. Yet she still stared.

"You have nerve to say that to my face you fucking whore! Why don't you- ACK!"

No one in the room knew what happened. The big man simply fell to the ground and blood flooded out of his nostrils. He was dead. The other five people in the room looked at her. Some in shock, surprise, and fear. They also saw that the protruding horn-like structure above the forehead of her mask glowed.

She then stared at the dead body and walked closer. She kicked the head of the dead man with minimal force. Seeing that there was no response, she then looked at the others in question.

"Anyone next?"

Her tone was simple and it did wonders to the fear she gave out.

The one with the knives all across his body stepped forward.

"W-Who are you?" he said as he took out two knives from his forearms. The others steeled their nerves as well in preparation for her. Witnessing their leader die like that with ease made the nervous.

"I assumed my name was out there by now, but I guess a group of nobodies like you would have been too ignorant to care."

The sound of rattling chains from above were only noticed by her alone.

"Don't underestimate us you bi-" the feline-lady was stopped when a heavy object the size of a car crashed on top of her at an instant. Her arm flew away a few inches after the impact. Leaving a flattened corpse that splatted blood across the floor in which she last stood.

"Anyone who calls me an uncouth name once more will suffer a fate far worse than hers." She said again in a deadpan manner. Shocking the other three as she merely just stood there, not even an arm nor leg was moved.

She then clapped her hands together and smiled underneath her mask.

"Now, I'm sure none of you want to die… but since I work alone and never intended nor liked to share with anyone, I guess something drastic is needed to be done."

The insect man charged in with his scythe arms towards her, but before he could do anything she held up the lighter and she simply aimed the small object towards him. A sudden blaze of inferno came out from the small fire moments ago and it burned the insect man in place

**FWOOOOSSSHHH!**

He screamed in agony as the blaze continued. She held up the lighter and it levitated into the air continuing to burn away the insect man to his death.

The smaller man prior then jumped towards her, his arms morphed into a hammer and a blade in the other. He tried to hit her but she simply dodged each strike carefully and easily that it was comical for the little man as he screamed in frustration. He then used his blade arm to strike her sideways, only to be caught by the wrist with her left hand. He then smiled a bit as this let her open to the strike with his hammer hand, but before he could get a hit in, she simple poked her finger with her free arm towards his neck and it snapped his entire neck in place. He fell to ground, instantly dead with a shocked expression strewn across his face.

The only one left was the knife-man.

She simply stared at him, unsure but ready to do anything should he move. He was frozen in place as he saw his team all around him, dead in the worse conditions.

Then a realization hit him.

"Y-You… y-you're that woman."

"Is that supposed to stop me from killing you?"

He stepped back as he looked at her entire attire and look and in his head he confirmed that this was the person he recognized far too well.

"You're Jade…" he said in horror.

"Oh… is that fanboy I hear in that voice? I would love to settle this with little blood then." She said with a slightly amused tone. She walked towards him and took held his head in place. The man began to loom in fear and beg for his life. Tears starting to stream in his eyes.

"P-Please… I didn't know. I didn't know…" he begged.

"What difference does it make? At least you died knowing it was me."

"No please… I-I'm only doing this for my-" he was cut off when blood began to seep into his nostrils and mouth. The green glow on her horn illuminated his horrified face until his eyes dilated. He was dead and he fell to the ground.

"Consider that mercy enough for crossing me and like I said, I don't share."

The woman known by the moniker Jade heavily sighed. She hated killing this much people in one location. It brought a lot of attention towards her work. However, she did realize that this needed to be done and that she had to complete this job in a faster rate. She predicted that other shmucks would take the job. It was far too large of an opportunity to waste and she knew any other stupid lowlife small-timer would get his or her hands on it.

She understood why they were here, but she was angry at that idea. She would have words with the client after this is all done. She hated being put in the dark and giving off the bounty in a sort of competition as to who gets it first made her furious. This also gave way another problem, some individuals may not be in the same power level as her, but some might. To be fair, she was not afraid of anyone and she proved that foremost the first time her name was exposed by the media.

Still, things like that complicate everything and she hated complications.

For now however, she would walk in with a wary and cautious step in her wake. She would need to handle the bodies later, should this be a bloodbath again with same types of people she would kill them where they are, take the target and using her abilities, hide the bodies long enough in the sea next to the docks. She would also clean as much evidence as possible. Making it easier to cover her tracks until then.

She took out the device from her belt and surveyed her surroundings. She was close. Very close.

As she was about to walk closer towards a room that seemingly had the target, a light suddenly shown from the side. She instantly hid herself on a nearby crate and hoped the one using the flashlight never saw her. She heard footsteps coming closer towards the crate and with her senses felt around her in this room, she felt that the man was looking around in worry. The flashlight shaking in his hands.

Jade wondered why the man was shaking in nervousness.

It did not matter to her anyways. She did not want witnesses and this man was about to be. With a quick maneuver she head-locked the man in place and used her other arm to hold the wrist where he held the flashlight. Keeping it there to avoid suspicion, should there be any other people around that was with him.

He struggled underneath her grip and Jade felt him trying to break free, but his weak body, coupled with his stick-like physique gave out on him. He was far too weak compared to her. She held him steady and a small pin that came from her belt levitated slowly towards his chest and to his horror as he tried to be free saw that the pin entered his flesh, piercing his internal organs and heart inside. The small hole where the pin entered seeped with blood and began to flow into the dirty ragged clothes the man had. He slowly went limp as he no longer moved in her grasp.

"Shhhhhh… just let go." She whispered and he was dead. She removed the flashlight from his hand and it remained floating in place. She then settled the man into the corner of this small hallway and he bled there. Jade then realized that the man looked awfully… different than the thugs she had encountered. He looked like a homeless person, but she shrugged the thought away as she turned off the flashlight and took the device again to see where the target was. She walked back towards the door she initially came to and with a slow creak to it she stepped inside. The device signaling her that she was very close towards the target.

She took another step closer and let her senses fill the room to 'see'.

Suddenly she heard a voice.

"H-Honey? W-What was that sound?" a weak voice of a woman called out. Jade wondered in confusion as she sensed that it was a woman near her. She could not see Jade with the darkness, but Jade could sense her. What puzzled Jade with this discovery was that she sensed her to be sickly… and holding what seemed to be…

"H-Honey?" before Jade could react the woman took out a flashlight and shined it on the entrance of the door, but what she saw was not the man, but Jade herself in her suit and mask. Horror came to her face as she shook in fear, speechless.

"W-Who are you?" she asked shakenly in her voice

Jade did not respond, but she now saw the woman in clear view. She was weak, thin, and almost sickly like the man she had just killed. She was surprised to see her, as the device seemed to imply that she was the target, but before she could think that way, another revelation donned itself.

The sickly woman had something in her arms.

And it was a baby. A baby with Crimson strands of hair on her head.

This night became more complicated than she would have liked it to be.

* * *

"Who are you? W-Where is my… Oh God." The sickly woman with dirty raven-black hair said towards her, she clutched the baby closer towards her as she saw Jade. Jade never said a word, the senses she had only amplified by the mask gave him a feeling that meant something was wrong. She felt only two bodies here. One of the sickly woman and one of the baby. The description said 'young' and had crimson hair. The baby had strands of crimson hair and she was 'young'. Too young for her tastes. To be fair to her own morals, she never cared for the death of anyone innocent. If it wasn't related to her or if she cared less, she gave no sympathy. However, there were exceptions and one of them was here now and it was a baby. It was ridiculous for her line of work to even care remotely for what the baby's condition was but being a child once herself (a neglected child), she drew the line there.

Still, she did not believe what she was seeing. She still could not put it in her senses that this little child was the target, the target with such high value and high price tag. Seeing the kind of people that wanted to take the little one made her visibly tense. The baby may more or less not survive this night.

She felt sick knowing that one person would do this. Pitting everyone who took their job to the death just to get one measly and innocent baby was beyond her. She hated this.

"P-Please… don't kill me. S-she needs me…" the sickly woman said a she tried to inch away. Tears in her eyes began to form up as she held the baby closer to her own. The baby itself was

_So it's a she? _She thought to herself.

"Please… leave us alone. We don't want any part of your plan. W-We just wanted to take this little girl away from it. From everything…" she pleaded with broken and fearful eyes.

Normally she would not give a shit, but seeing the pain the woman had in her eyes made her feel guilty for killing her husband, or what she assumed to be her husband. She now tried to piece together what she needed to do in this situation. She also asked herself why this baby was the target, why was she such a high liability in the first place?

_Damn it all, and I just wanted a quiet job for tonight. _She muttered to herself. Sweat began to form up on her forehead as she thought about all of this.

"Y-You already killed him, p-please just let us go and I-I won't tell anyone." The sickly woman said with a shaky voice. Jade just continued to stare. What was she to say to her anyway? That she was here for the baby? That even though she would leave them alone, some other people will just come here and kill them and take her?

Before she could make a decision, the horn of her mask flashed bright green. Using her amplified senses, she felt a dozen- no, almost over forty or more people just entered the range of her sensory zone. She concluded such an outcome with the numerous voices and sounds of people outside or inside the building beginning to build up. The two had not heard nor felt it yet, but they were in for a night of their lives, her included.

A sound of metal or something large was heard outside the door. The sickly woman panicked and Jade responded by walking slowly towards the door and closing it quietly enough for no one to notice. She knew that the sound came a bit too close to the bodies of the first six she encountered. It would slow them down a bit, at least if they bought in to be shocked by their corpses.

She then turned her head towards the two, walking over and kneeling to have her and the woman face to face. She stared straight into her eyes as the woman grew more anxious and scared to the surprising change of heart.

"Look here, I don't intend to save you both but there are people out there that want to kill you and take your daughter away…" she said to them in a low voice.

"T-There are m-more?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm not the only one it seems that took this job. Even if I quit this inquiry and leave you two here, you'll both die or worse, and based on the mood of the people I can sense outside… this place is going to have one hell of a party tonight."

"O-Oh no… t-they caught up to us. After all this time- Oh God… I-I told him we needed to move way again, but he was so sure that w-we, we wouldn't get caught." The sickly woman said as she began to tear up towards the baby in her hands. She apologetically whispered towards the child as Jade watched.

The sound began to come closer; she swore that they both heard what seemed to be voices calling out names in the dark. Jade turned off the flashlight that the woman was holding, she was still shaking but she held out her other hand with a finger raised to keep her quiet. She then slowly guided the woman's hand to put the flashlight down to the floor.

"T-They're close. You both need to leave. I can't help you." She whispered to them, the only light being the faint glow of the horn of her mask.

The woman then looked at her, not in defeat nor fear this time, but acceptance. She gingerly held the baby towards her. Jade then realized what she was meaning to do.

"W-What the hell are you doing?" she snapped with a low voice.

"Y-You need to protect her. I-I can't anymore. Please, she needs to be far away from here. Far from them… far from those people." She pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"Are you insane? She'll put a target on my back. I can't afford that even with a kid like her."

"Please, I beg you. She needs your help. I don't care if you killed my husband or not, I just want the girl to be safe. I-I don't know what'll happen if they get her. S-she won't just die! Please. I need you to take her from me and help her. Y-You're her only hope." Panic and desperation were laced into the woman's words. Jade felt tense but unresolved on how to best approach this.

She was shaking as she sobbed softly into Jade's shoulder. Jade did not know what to do next. If she would take the baby like the woman said, a large target would be put on her back. She did care a bit for the well-being of the small child, but she cared more for her own safety. She weighed down all the risks she would take if she took the offer but she knew that the risks outweighed the benefits.

"I-I can't accept. This is too much for me. I don't want myself to be compromised. Even if it meant I have to leave you two behind." She said to them with a firm tone. The sickly woman was shocked with her words.

"You can't let her to be taken!"

"Why would I care? I don't even know the damn reason why this little kid is being hunted with a large paycheck on her ass. If you could somehow tell me why, then maybe… maybe I'll reconsider." She said with a now slightly annoyed tone.

"S-She's special." The woman said with a heavy and sad voice.

"That's it?"

"No… you don't understand, if she gets taken- "a sudden realization came to Jade. A faint blue and thin blue light just hit the woman in the chest. She was able to duck in time but the woman wasn't lucky. It had pierced her heart and lethally wounded her. She instantly began to limp her whole body in pain and was about to drop the baby. Only for Jade to catch the sleeping child just in time while also slowly putting the sickly woman to the floor.

She choked on her own blood as Jade watched in both uncertainty and concern. Not just for the baby but for herself. She began to ask what she got herself into. Jade began to worry for the worst, but she knelt closer with the baby in her hands towards the woman.

"Did you hit something inside?" she heard a voice say outside the door.

"I can't tell, it's too dark in there to know." Another voice said.

"But the damn thing says it's in there."

Jade gritted her teeth, this complicated yet another thing for her tonight, all she could do right now was hold the baby in front of the woman who was dying to her wounds. The woman then took her hand and squeezed it with the remaining strength she had. Jade was surprised at the action yet she took her hand still.

"T-Take care of her… s-she needs to live a normal life… p-promise me." Blood was seeping into her lips as her other hand was at her wound, now soaking her clothes with the blood that was coming out of it.

"I can't promise that." Jade said to her.

"Y-You'd have to… i-in time." She then moved her head slightly and kissed the little girl's head one last time and smiled with as much happiness as she had left. She then looked at Jade and her pupils dilated.

She was gone. Leaving her with the package and the promise to take care of her. Two things were in her head right now, the decision to give the girl and fight herself out to the client, or leave this place with her. Regardless of what would happen. She had no guilt over the deaths of the woman and the man but she was conflicted on what to do with the baby. Uncertainty was now tethering into the edge of her sanity.

"We need to check in inside to be sure." A voice said.

"I ain't getting in there, it's dark!"

"Like a give a crap."

"Just dust the place up first, then we'll enter."

"What? And kill the package?"

Jade was not having any of this. Her day was already ruined she angrily held the baby in her arms and scowled at her. She was the prime reason she was in this shitshow. She could kill her right here and now so that no one could get the bounty. One thing stopped her though, and it was that she could not seem to have the nerve to kill such an innocent and small child who barely understood nor aware of what was happening. She questioned what made this little girl special.

**CRASH!**

Her thoughts were driven out the window when the wall closest to her was broken apart. Entering said wall were two individuals wearing very non-subtle suits. One was a man wearing shorts and had some sort of absorbing ability, and another was a man in a suit with a blank face.

"What do we have here?" the man with the shorts said as Jade stood up and held the baby in her hands, protectively for reasons she never understood herself. She was about to reply when apparently the voices from outside the door unleashed a volley of those small rays of light and it cut and singed every part of the room. Jade was able to break the wall next to her with slight concentration and dodged the makeshift beams of light with the baby in her arms. The absorbing man had his head chopped off from the ensuing rays. The man with no face conjured what seemed to a semi-invisible surface and the lights bounced off of it.

Jade sighed in relief but it was soon taken back when she saw that she was in the middle of the abandoned shipyard, and around her was a multitude of men and women. All who had different abilities and all who were ready to jump on her.

_Great. Fucking Great. _

"Hand over the package." She heard one said and she saw a woman with a snake-like complexion, and a snake for hair. The waist-down she was a serpent, finishing the look. Before she could move closer however bullets that exploded like small bombs struck the ground next to her. She saw the one who shot it come closer with what seemed to be a sniper rifle attached to with a tube going to his chest.

"If anyone's gonna get that package, it'll be me. Fuck off, all of you." He said as he aimed that rifle towards Jade. All the other people in there who had abilities of their own had looked at her like the immediate threat. Jade's heartbeat began to race up as she angrily looked at all of them. The mask of her horn radiating brightly in green energy.

"I'm not asking again… Jade." The man said.

Suddenly murmurs began to form around her. Her name thrown into the mix as she held the baby closer towards her. She still did not wake up, but she bet that the more commotion ensued she would cry in terror. Those that were talking about her then began to look at her with more vigor and anger than never before.

"It's flattering to know that at least someone recognizes me, are you all here for the job as well?"

"I am, but like you I don't share as well, so hand the damn thing over so I can kill the other useless punks here and leave with the cash."

"You sound like you can kill me."

"I'll take my chances, but if it ain't me, there are others her who'd do and knowing you I can say that you know my reputation as well."

Jade focused her eyes on the man. She did in fact recognize him.

"So what's it gonna be Jade… no one here is scared of you." He commented. She huffed from that comment and sensed that a group behind her was about to move in and kill her. Her horn blared brightly in green in an instant.

A thunderous crash was heard. With it a violent display of power that came from a nearby large ship that was violently thrown by an invisible force and massacred all the people behind her. A few escaped, though narrowly. The show of power was so massive in scale that the entire ship was capsized and broken in half the moment it crashed the ground moments prior. It now sits in the middle of the pier behind Jade.

She heaved for a breath, it took almost all her stamina to do such a thing. She slowly regained her footing but she steeled herself to show those who were still there that she was still strong enough to fight them all head on. She protectively held the baby in her arms. She did not notice however that baby shifted in her arms.

All those who were still watching were in shock at what they just witnessed. She was still regaining her breath slowly as she looked down upon her assailants. Clutching the baby closer to her.

"A-Anyone care to say to me that they can take me on?" she said tiredly.

"That was impressive. Though that won't stop me. You may have fought the Symbol of Peace on numerous occasions Jade, but I'm not leaving her until either I get the baby or when you're dead." The seriousness of his tone began to reignite the determination of all those in the area that were alive.

They had the same bloodlust to get that reward even if it meant dying.

"Fine… take me then! All of you!" she shouted out aloud as she readied herself for a full blown fight. The gunman raised his gun and the rest ignited their abilities to attack her.

With that… the chaos started. They were starting to rip each other apart and made as much commotion as possible, putting all the notice and eyes on the abandoned shipyard. The night was not peaceful anymore.

Jade dodged and was able numerous people by either throwing object violently towards them or snapping necks when they got close. She was doing her best to keep the baby out of harm's way but the more she did, the more she realized that she would not last at this rate. She was getting tired and the fight was just starting. That stunt she did with the ship nearly took out all her strength and she was heaving as she kept on using her ability.

But as everyone was fighting, she felt the baby shift in her arms and after it opened its eyes, she began to trickle tears down her face as she saw that the one holding her was not her guardian.

Then something snapped.

With the baby's wail of terror and fear came a violent wave of red energy that crackled like lightning around her. Jade did not understand what was happening at first but everything came to a halt a second later. A shock wave of red energy exploded from the baby affecting her and everyone that was hit by it. The lightning the baby emitted shocked her too much that she knelt and let go of her as it persisted.

The area of influence had reached out almost throughout the whole city. Everything screeched to a stop as everyone felt the pain enter their bodies when they were struck.

Suddenly, all who were there in the vicinity of the baby's continuous wave of terror felt a sensation of fear, as if all their stress, worries, and anxiousness built up in their heads. Everyone cried out in pain as it overloaded their senses, specifically their brains. It affected Jade so much that her mask cracked and she was struggling to concentrate.

Jade felt old memories to resurface. Ones that were in her nightmares and ones that made her feel like a little girl again in fear of the unknown.

The intensity of the wave worsened so much that people in the city had bled in through their noses, ears, and mouths. Even those in law enforcement were having the same terror too.

After what seemed like an eternity of pain, the energy from the little girl intensified further and the result was something that would never be forgotten for years to come.

Everyone affected by the energy, specifically those closest had their heads explode into a bloody and gory mosaic. Fountains of blood rose a bit because of the pressure that built up in their heads and all throughout the city… everything living from children, adults, and animals had simultaneously burst their heads to the wave of energy that ensued. Everywhere began to fill with blood as the massacre continued.

Jade felt herself dying as she thought about how her last moments came like this.

She screamed in pain before blacking out herself.

Blood sprayed around her when the once bustling and chaotic night of Aldera Ward, Japan turned into an eerie and undisturbed silence.

Nothing was heard. Only the cry of a certain crimson-haired baby was there. Energy tendrils of red lightning slowly dissipated into the calm night.

* * *

Jade felt consciousness to slowly come to her. She did not believe that she was able to survive that. She slowly sat up as she took her mask off. Coughing in blood with a stream coming from her nose. Her head had still hurt from that… whatever it was.

She regained her breath as she felt her muscles and limbs sore. She did not feel any sort of pain from breakage or something, but she did in fact feel that she would need some rest. Her eyes focused to the silence around her and that's where realization took hold of her. She saw the shipyard still broken from the fight but what shocked her to see was pile upon pile of bodies and blood that sprayed everywhere. It was so damn quiet. Too quiet.

She then saw that the city close to this place was also quiet. Only sounds of rescue helicopters and vehicles in place. She also saw some figures who were either flying or making noise (pro heroes perhaps). Everything seemed dead, and they were all dead. She tried to remember what caused this, and then she recalled that she had the baby in her hands. She rushed near her and saw the baby still crying, and she then realized yet again that this was the cause of all of this.

She looked around as she cradled the baby.

This one single child had killed everyone in sight that was affected by the power she had displayed. She then widened her eyes when she realized that the reason she could only hear such sounds from the city… was because everyone was dead. She did not want to believe it, but it was foolish to deny such a thing. She looked at the baby in fear and questioned yet again why on earth she was so special.

Now she knew and she didn't know what to think of it.

The weight of the situation took her in as she tried to calm her down. So many questions began to pile up. What was this child? Why was she the bounty? Why was this child… so powerful to do all of this? Why did her ability- no, her quirk manifested this early? She looked at her crying face as she tried to comfort her to sleep again. She also wondered why she didn't die amidst all of this. However, she did recall that her mask focused and amplified her telekinetic abilities. It also served in helping her against mental-type quirks. For some god-forsaken reason, she was lucky that she had that mask on.

Yet… she was still reeling in of the events that lead them now to here.

"I-It's alright… I'll protect you. I-I'll protect you…" she said while shushing the baby.

She could not give her to the client. She now knew what was on stake. True, she didn't care for all of those deaths, but seeing the amount of destruction in front of her prompted her to realize that this girl deserved something better. Not her… not anyone…

But something better. She cradled her close as she was slowly being lulled to sleep. She would need to leave soon. Before the pros could arrive. It would only serve as a large detriment if she let herself get caught. She also knew that if the pros would discover her, they would lock her up and experiment on her dangerous… quirk. Was it still a quirk? Holding her now felt like a nuclear bomb ready to explode on contact. She was scared of that thought but couldn't take herself to leave her as is.

She made her decision. She would hide the girl. Hide her from everyone. The world didn't need to hear about this day. They wouldn't need to know that one helpless little girl had just killed hundreds or maybe thousands of people without any awareness of her actions.

She stood up and readied herself to leave when something crashed in front of her.

When the smoke cleared, a large and muscular man in a red and blue suit came into view. She knew him far too well not to forget his name. The Symbol of Peace himself, All Might was here. This time he had no smile on his face. He only had a large scowl.

_I fucking don't need this right now. _She internally commented.

"Villain! You will pay for all of those lives you've taken today. I thought you were salvageable before, now I realize you're as despicable as the rest of them. What a fool I was to try and save you from yourself." He said with a finger pointed at her.

"I don't need this All Might… just leave. I can't deal with you right now." She said in a low voice before she turned to him and put her mask back on.

"You will not leave here unscathed. You killed over a thousand people tonight and I am not leaving until you face the consequences." He said now, his tone adamant.

Jade did not want to fight here anymore. She was still carrying the child. She was dead-set in making sure they would get out of here.

"I need to leave. You have to understand. It was not me who did this."

"ENOUGH!" he screamed as he aimed a punch at her, she concentrated again and a crane beside her fell upon All Might, but she was still thrown to the ground from the shockwave that ensued. She felt one of her ribs break from the impact of his punch. She now knew that he was not holding back.

"I've heard enough lies from you. You crossed the line tonight, so I'm making sure you'd never do this thing again."

Jade quickly stood up with the baby softly crying in her grasp. She needed to calm her down unless another… Oh God she thought. She needed to stop All Might from is anger towards her.

"All Might STOP! You idiot! It was not me! You have to listen or we're all going to die!" she shouted out loud.

"You don't deserve any words of innocence! You've killed so many people! You're not going to do that again!" he said as he readied to charge him yet again.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Can't you see I'm injured? This is not my doing!"

"I don't care!" he said as he charged in with another punch, Jade was out of options. Either it was to tank another cry from the kid (to which she doubted she would survive) or keep her away from harm's way with the last vestiges of her quirk and accept her fate.

She cradled the child as if it were her own and kissed her forehead. She asked herself on why she did it, but in truth tonight she had given up on her own self. The child was the only thing that mattered.

"It'll be alright… y-you'll be safe…" she whispered, but did not realize that All Might was faster and she closed her eyes as she waited for the fist to hit her face, only for her to realize that he suddenly stopped. His breath almost as if he did everything to stop himself.

He angrily scowled at her as he saw that her mask was broken, revealing a teared-up right eye with fear in it. Along with a crying child in her arms.

"W-What… what is the meaning of this?"

"I… I need to get her out of here…" she said in a shaking voice.

"Who is that child? What happened here?"

"S-She… she's -I need to get us out of here. I need to disappear. Y-You have to understand. I-I can't let them find her. Not like this."

All Might stood there staring at Jade as she was on the ground cradling the girl to calm her down. Her green hair dirty and filled with rubble and blood.

"Jade. What happened here? Why is she here?" his voice now calmer and solemn.

Jade stood up and out of All Might's vision took out her lighter with her free hand.

"She was a target. I only took a job to claim, I didn't realize it was her."

All Might's expression changed visibly.

"Wait… do you mean that-"

"Yes… this was all her. Which is why I need to keep her out of harm's way." She said as she turned her lighter on and a torrent of flame blazed in front of him, obscuring them from his vision.

"WAIT! Jade, you can't just leave!" he said as he tried to stop the flames.

"I'm sorry…" she said with a slight tear in her eye and the last thing he saw was her cradling the child in her arms before the flames dissipated and she was gone.

All Might remained standing where he last saw them and still tried to process what was told to him. He never moved until a certain police named Naomasa came running with his colleagues and some of the Pro Heroes of the top 10 came.

"All Might... what happened?"

"I… I don't know."

* * *

23:35 Hours…

Nemuri Kayama was just finishing up and heading to bed after a long and arduous day at patrol. Breaking in drug dealers and some small-time villains took a lot out of her, making her ask herself whether she should do something new for a change.

For now, before sleeping as her usual thing to do in her apartment she watches television. Anything that came up was enough for her until sleep takes her. She settled in with her pajamas and put her rather proud and revealing costume back in her room to rest. She then took out a beer can and opened it. Fizzling in place from the cold temperature she closed her refrigerator and walked to her couch. She closed door to her kitchen afterwards. She sat in her couch and stretched her body. Taking the remote in hand and took a sip before turning it on.

She turned on the channels bit by bit and saw random things that came into view. Movies, cartoons, talk shows, and other things. Being bored to such shows right now, she kept on trying to find at least once thing to keep her occupied before sleep took her.

Then she stumbled upon the news channel.

In fact, almost every station was putting on such a breaking news. Nemuri or better known as the hero Midnight scrunched her brow towards this particular news. Wondering why it was on every station, and as she saw the headline as well as to what it was… she was shocked.

"A tragic incident had happened here on Aldera Ward Japan when a total of almost 6000 people had died in a tragic event that took the lives of even the pro heroes guarding this city. Authorities are not sure yet as to why this tragedy occurred but witnesses report that a wave of red swirling energy that seemed lightning-based was seen bubbling all over. Leading to some experts to say that it was a villain attack. Said villain attack also took the lives of several small-time to ambiguous villains that were on the watchlist of authorities worldwide. One such villain, going by the name "Longshot" was killed, his remains as well as the other villains spread all across the nearby abandoned shipyard."

Nemuri began to feel the horror come towards her as she saw the gravity of such a situation. She took her phone and began to dial down several numbers on her list that lived in Aldera Ward. She hoped that they were alive.

"What baffles experts right now is that the blast of energy seemingly… pardon those who are in their homes, but the energy seemingly made all affected individuals to rupture their heads. Leaving all the dead with headless corpses for everyone to clean up."

Nemuri put a hand on her mouth in shock. It kept coming.

"The top 10 heroes were all in the scene to respond. Sadly, no survivors as of yet were found. All Might himself was found and even though we tried to interview him, he gave no comments nor statements regarding the incident. To some experts however, have figured this to be either a telekinetic or telepathic based quirk that caused this. They theorize that this individual amplified his or her power and caused the tragic destruction witnessed tonight. This lead some to think what villain would do such a thing. Earlier comments from some theorists claim that the attack could be the result of the villain known widely as 'Jade' the telekinetic quirk user that had run ins with the Symbol of Peace and more than one occasion eluded capture from his grasp-"

Nemuri turned off the television.

She had enough for one night. Instead of helping her sleep, this only made her restless. She had encountered this 'Jade' before and after she did, she had to admit that she let her go. Reasons being that she recognized her. An old friend of hers back in highschool that vanished.

Right now, she felt that decision of letting her go dropped the weight of guilt on her shoulders. She never thought she would stoop so low like this. Even if it wasn't her, something same would happen and Nemuri felt as if she was to blame for letting her go. She was her friend… once, but it was now a long gone memory. She wasn't even sure if she was still the same when she last talked to her.

"Damn it…" she muttered to herself. She sipped another drink of her beer to let her grief in.

A sound of glass shattering was heard. Her senses tensed as she ran towards her whip and she pulled the sleeves of her pajamas. She focused herself and slowed her breathing. Panicking was not a thing she needed right now. She could stop the whatever it was with a single emission of her quirk.

She slowly walked towards the kitchen door and slowly opened it.

She then walked inside and saw that her window had been broken and a silhouette of a person sitting underneath her broken window was seen. Based on what she saw, she assumed the person was exhausted, the breathes (she assumed to be) she was dry and heaving.

She slowly tried to upstart her quirk.

"D-Don't… please." She heard her say. Surprising her.

"Why?"

"I… I need your help." After saying this she heard a sound that seemed like a baby cooing. Midnight flinched and instantly turned on the lights of the kitchen. Nemuri's eyes widened when she saw a broken and bloodied Jade who was on the floor. She had a small and tired smile on her face. Her mask on the ground next to her with blood on it. What surprised Nemuri more was that on her arms was a small baby girl that had red crimson hair in strands.

"Inko…" Nemuri said.

"Hi… Nemuri." Jade, her real name Inko said to her.

"What is this?" Nemuri asked.

"I-I need your help with her…" she said as she cradled the baby closer.

Nemuri came over and saw her condition. She was badly beaten up but the girl had no traces of anything that hurt her. Only that she was dirty and dusted. She was lightly squeezing Inko's finger. Playing at it as if it were a toy. She was uncertain still of being the guardian or… mother-figure to this child. Her mind still reeling in what happened, leading her to have mixed thoughts and a hazy disposition.

"Who is she?" Nemuri asked.

Inko looked at the little girl, and even though she knew that this was a gamble. She simply sighed and smiled as she kissed the little girl. She would protect her for now. She was sure of it. If not, then the worst was yet to come. She gulped slightly before trying to say it.

"S-She's my daughter… Izumi."

END OF PROLOGUE

* * *

**Hi guys, I'm a lurker in this part of the site, but I just had this small idea in my head that I wanted to turn into a possible small project. I'm fairly new with this kind of thing so I assume it won't be perfect. Leave a like and review I guess and if you guys want I can continue this. For now, I hope you enjoyed. Have a good day!**


	2. I Seeds of the Future

**AN: Had to update this a bit, the file I sent in didnt seem to read that well. So I fixed it. Should be better by now.**

**I.** Seeds of the Future

1839 Hours…

"Never fear for I am here!" holding at least a dozen people in his arms with a smile as bright as hope can be, the hero All Might dazzled and inspired numerous people from all walks of life. His deeds, immeasurable now and everlasting left quite an impression on the world after his first debut. Bringing in the infamous hope and justice that came with each battle and fight he had won. His Glory days still shining after years of service. He was a beacon of hope that kindled the hearts of both the heroes that operate now and a deterrent to evildoers who step out of line.

All Might… the hero she looked up upon as she held one of his figures in her hand. Scratched and barely the same as it was when it was new, but she took care of it and maintained its appearance. There were newer versions of the toy she had right now and she knew some kids that she saw and met had them, but since circumstances were different for her upbringing, she was relegated to what she had. She was content about it true, but she wouldn't mind something new.

The only problem was… if they would let her.

After the video of All Might was over, she stood up from her seat and walked with her cautious and weak legs towards the laptop atop the desk near the bed that she shared with her mother. As quick as she can muster, she climbed on the desk chair and used the attached mouse to find another video to watch. It was her sixth video for the night, and she wanted to watch at least another one before her mother would arrive.

With the All Might figure in hand, she began to try and type simple words on the search engine. After waiting for a few seconds to load, she scrolled down on the site to watch any video that she found to be interesting and related about him. After picking a distinct one that she figured she hadn't watched yet, she placed the figure on the desk and went to the underside of the bed. Grabbing a box and dusting it off with a small cough. She opened the lid and in it was four notebooks as well as a few All Might merchandise. Taking one of the notebooks from her stash, she closed the box and hid it again under. Deeper like usual as to not draw any attention or for anyone to see it. She took the notebook and grabbed a pen from the desk and placed it in front of the laptop, ready to scribble some notes whilst watching the video, which was revealed to be titled: "All Might's Quirk Debunked". Before she could start the video she placed the figure on the desk and made it stand up. Unlike other girls like her in her grade, she had action figures dedicated to her hero instead of dolls and teddy bears. She always liked the distinct smile her hero had and seeing it on both the videos she watched and the figure she had, it brought a renowned sense of belonging and hope to her heart.

She traced the smile on the figure's head and tried to imitate it. Putting both her fingers on both sides of her lips and tried to emulate the smile. After holding it for a few seconds she giggled about it. Thinking that her smile won't be as great but maybe someday she could. Someday, when she gets to be a hero alongside her idol. She took the figure in her hands yet again and embraced it close to her heart. She began to daydream of a day she could fulfill that dream of hers.

If only.

Knocking was heard on the door to the bedroom. She dropped the figure on the floor as her heart sank. She panicked and quickly tried to hide all the evidence of what she was doing. Unfortunately, when she grew up her mother had her go to the doctors and after a very long process of checking her up, they found a condition that rendered her limbs and movements to be weaker than the average person. Doing her best in the fastest way possible she closed her notebook in panic and began to close all the tabs on the laptop that were related to what she was watching.

"Izumi? Why is the door locked? Didn't we agree that no doors are to be locked in this house?" she heard her mother say outside the door of the room. Her heart had now beat itself so much that it was like she ran a marathon. Sweat began to show on her forehead as fear took her.

On the other side of the locked door, Inko Midoriya was starting to sense that something fishy was going on inside. She sighed, she was not in the mood for these kind of things right now. She held out her hand and one of the keys from the foyer instantly flew straight to her hand. She inserted the key into the bedroom door and before she could open it she tried to approach this differently.

"Izumi… I'm coming in. We need to talk about something. It's important."

She turned the key and opened the door gently as not to scare her. Opening the door and letting the light from the hallway to enter.

"Izumi… what are you doing de-"

Inko's eyes darted into the room and saw that Izumi was scrambling to hide her notebook and what seemed to be an action figure in her hand. She was on the floor, and the chair was flipped over, she assumed that she fell over. Worry came to her senses as she walked to her. Izumi however inched away as she held the figure and notebook close to her. She wanted to sneak away and disappear then and there.

"Izumi, are you hurt? Why did you fall down?" she said while sighing as she knelt down and tried to help her up. Izumi looked away from her. She clenched the All Might figure tight in her grasp away from her view.

"N-No mom… i-it was an accident. I-I just fell after leaning on the chair too much."

"I told you to be careful next time. You know I hate it when you get hurt." Inko said to her with a small and worried smile.

"I-I know mom."

"What were you doing here by the way? And why was the door locked?" she said as she looked around. Seeing nothing of note except for what Izumi was hiding and the turned on laptop on the desk. She narrowed her eyes as she saw that three tabs were on the browser.

Standing up, Inko walked closer to the laptop. Izumi panicked and dropped the items she had close to her. Grabbing her mother's dress, she tried to stop her.

"M-Mom don't I was just w-watching some videos… y-you don't need to-"

Inko pressed on one of the tabs. A video was still buffering but it played.

"I AM HERE! Never fear citizens! The Symbol of Justice has arrived!"

Izumi then saw her mother stare at the video. She wasn't moving. Izumi's anxiousness doubled up as the mood of the room changed. There was no smile on Inko's face.

"M-Mom… I was just watching a random video. I just saw it in the front page and-"

"What were those things you were trying to hide from me?" Inko suddenly said, her tone affirmative and assertive. It seemed like the warmth of her prior demeanor disappeared in an instant.

"T-They're… they're…" the little girl was scared when Inko paused the video and laid her eyes straight into her own. Almost as if she was one of those villains that she watched All Might fighting.

"I'll ask again. What were you hiding from me?"

Izumi didn't know how to respond. Before she knew it, the items she were hiding that were on the ground flew into Inko's hands. The expression on her face changed again slightly. One of them, was disappointment and concern.

"M-Mom… I can explain. Just please don't do anything to them."

"Where did you get this?" Inko asked as she gestured towards the All Might figure in her hands.

She was mumbling her own words, trying to think of an excuse. No valid sentence was thought of. Her mother wouldn't believe her otherwise.

"A-Aunt Nemuri… helped me buy it a few weeks ago." A shrewd and weak voice came out of her.

"Nemuri bought you this?" the chair that fell to the ground flew up in the sitting position yet again like prior, after doing so she sat on it with a heavy sigh. Her hands tightening on the figure in frustration.

"N-No... it was my money. I-I earned enough of it f-for me to buy. Aunt Nemuri just helped me get to the store."

"And to think I told her to stop pushing you with these things. Stupid." Muttering to herself with a very sharp and snapping voice to it. Turning to her once again, she had an apprehensive look on her face. The figure in her hand was vibrating and shaking on itself.

"Mom? W-What're you doing?"

"Izumi. I want you to be honest with me. Why are you pursuing this obsession with heroes?"

"M-Mom I was just…"

"Don't lie to me. Things have been getting worse with this little obsession of yours. If I didn't come between it sooner, you'll just be the same as everyone else. I thought I taught you better than that." Venom laced in her words.

"B-But mom… I-I want to help people."

"That's a delusion and you know it! Ask yourself, what is the purpose of being a hero? It's stupid. All of it. Villains, Heroes, they're all the same. Two groups fighting each other to no avail and what? What comes after? The same damn thing all the same damn time. I… I wanted you to be better than this."

Then the figure exploded into a million pieces inside her palm, some of the pieces scattered around the room. It broke apart right in front of her and as she watched it all happen, her heart broke. Tears began to water her eyes.

Inko let the pieces fall from her hands and into the floor. The head of the figure rolled down exactly into Izumi's feet. Tears landed on it as she looked at it like a lifeline. Like something important died.

"Listen to me… this is the last time we'll talk about this. I don't care what Nemuri is saying to you, nor of the videos you watch. This is not what you want. This is not what I want for you. I want you to be safe. I want you to be away from all of this! I don't want you to be out there. So give up this delusion and stop trying. You don't have to try! You can just be normal… not like me. Not like that damn All Might…"

Izumi never looked up at her through the whole course of her sentence.

"Now stop all of this nonsense and throw it all away. All of it. I don't want a single thing about heroes nor any of that bullshit in here you understand?!"

The anger in her voice was apparent. She was frustrated beyond control with her. Izumi hadn't yet responded. Tears still trickled down on her face and into the floor, some of it still dripping on the All Might figure's head. She was sobbing silently, not wanting her mother to see her face.

Inko then began to be level-headed again. She hated this. She hated talking to her like this, but she couldn't let her to think this way. The soft-headed worldview on heroes and villains. The idiocy of it all and for her daughter to idolize All Might of all people made it worse. She hated it, but at the same time hated seeing her daughter cry like this.

"Izumi… stop it. Stop crying. We don't need to fight about this. I only want what's best for you and I know it may not be something that you want or like, but it's for you. All I'm doing is for you. Even if its harsh. I want you to be free. To be something beyond this. Y-You understand me right?"

Izumi continued to sob. Inko knelt and tried to make her daughter to face her. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and tried to wipe her tears, only for it be swatted away by Izumi as she fell to the floor with her weak legs. She hastily grabbed the All Might figure's head and held it close to her chest. She crawled away from her, with her back against her. Not wanting to see her nor even acknowledge her.

"Izumi…" Inko said as she looked at her.

"I-I… I hate you." She muttered softly.

Silence enveloped the room. Inko was ready for those words to come from her mouth, yet it still stung like a bullet straight to her heart. She grew to care for the girl as best as she can through the years, even with her doubts and inhibitions about her situation. Now, seeing her say those words brought an unintentional weight of emotion from both sides.

"Izumi… this is foolish. Come on, let's forget this happened and come have dinner with me." Saying those words with a bit of softness in it as best as she can was the only thing in her mind to solve this. However, seeing the girl still looking away from her with no intention of forgiving her made her solution useless. She even reached out her hand only for it to be left in the air.

They stayed like that until a particular voice was heard outside the room.

"Sorry if I was late guys, I had to deal in some extra time at work so I had to finish it before-" Nemuri was cut off when she came to the door and saw what happened. Inko looked at her with a look of disdain and Izumi was on the floor crying beside the bed.

"Oh Jesus…" she said as she rushed to Izumi's side. The little girl hurriedly leapt into her arms and continued to cry. Soaking the clothes Nemuri had just turned into. She didn't mind, as she began to caress the girl, trying to comfort her. She was no mother but Izumi was so close to her that she grew to care for her like she was her own. She then looked around the room and saw the remains of a figure she recognized as well as Inko's laptop that seemed to have an All Might video paused. A thought began to materialize in her head, realizing what just occurred.

"This is your fault." Inko said with frustration in her voice. She stood up and looked at Nemuri.

"My fault?! Are you insane? I just came here, seeing your daughter crying and of all the things you had to say, it'd had to be my fault?" she spat back.

"You're feeding her delusions Nemuri. I thought I told you to stop making her see all of this. To stop her in dreaming all of this. To hope that she can be like them. Especially him. You know damn why we shouldn't! and here I just caught her having that figure in hand and watching all of this crap."

"Inko, she's just a child. She doesn't need this, if she wants to think and dream that way, we should let her! This isn't what you should be doing to her, much less making her cry like this. I'm no mother, and even I know this has gone too far."

"I don't care… you know well enough why. I want you to stop this bullshit with her and make her abandon all of this." As she said this, she took one of the notebooks that Izumi had and to her expectation, she saw it as a sort of hero-analysis notebook. She shoved it towards Nemuri and made her see every note Izumi had written.

"You see this? If we let her go down this path… it won't help her."

"But this will? Inko stop and think for a moment! Even if we stopped her, what then? She will always come back to it. This is her dream; we can't stop her to abandon this dream. She's only four years old for crying out loud."

"I know where this goes Nemuri, and I intend to stop it now." As she said this, she took her lighter and was about to burn the notebook until Izumi burst from Nemuri's arms and grabbed the notebook with all her strength and after yanking it out of Inko's hands she ran to the wardrobe and shut it with as much force as she could muster. Nemuri stood up and walked to the wardrobe.

"Izumi give it back! You don't need this stupidity." Inko shouted.

"Get away! I-I don't want to see you." The little girl said in between sobs.

"Izumi if you don't get out of there this instant-"

"Stop already. I'll handle this, just get out of the room. She won't listen to you if you're like this." Nemuri interjected as she stood in front of her. Inko acknowledged that she had a point. She looked both on her friend's eyes and the wardrobe and frustratingly began to walk away towards the door.

"She better not be like this next time. It's for her own good. I hope you of all people see it that way." She left the room afterwards, leaving Nemuri to her own thoughts on the matter and Izumi still not getting out of her hiding spot.

Mustering enough strength into her resolve, she slowly walked towards the wardrobe and opened it with care not to frighten her. What she saw broke her resolve almost entirely. The small girl was huddled into the corner, not caring whether she had disrupted and wetted the clothes inside of it. She was clutching on both objects dearly into her arms as if they were the most important things in the world to her. Her dyed hair that was once red, which had green highlights was messy and the color of the dye was fading out. Her red irises that always filled her with smiles was replaced with sadness and tears.

"Shhh… you can stop crying now. I'm here."

Trying to embrace the girl in her arms, Izumi clung to her in comfort and sobbed again into her shoulder. Nemuri lifted her up and settled them on the bed. She gingerly took the notebook from her hands, even though she held on it as tightly as she can.

"Don't worry… I'm just going to place them on the bed. I won't take it, you can trust me." she whispered into the girl's ear. Gradually she let go, albeit reluctantly. She placed the notebook on the desk and let her keep the All Might figure's head in her palm.

"Aunt Nem-uri… w-why does mom hate me?"

"S-She doesn't hate you sweetie."

"T-Then why did she do this? W-Why does she leave me every time and only come to see me every now and then? W-why does she…. Why does she hate me trying to be…"

The hero known as Midnight felt the little girl hug her closely this time.

"Why does she hate my dream to be a hero?"

Even though she wanted to tell the truth to the young girl, she knew she wasn't ready for it. She didn't had an answer. She only embraced her as tight as she can to comfort her.

When she calmed down a bit, Nemuri closed the door to the room. Hoping Inko didn't mind that she did and walked again and sat next to her on the bed. Holding the All Might figure's head in her fingers. Guilt came to her as she remembered that smile she had when she bought that toy for her. She sighed.

"Izumi… look, I know you hate your mother, and you probably hate me as well. But know that what she said was true, she loves you that's why she's doing this. She doesn't want you to get hurt sweetie. We only want what's best for you, and sometimes the best isn't the most kindest nor greatest thing."

Nemuri phrased it as best as she can so she would understand it.

Izumi didn't look her way and instead looked at the laptop, whose screen was paused on the video where All Might smiled brightly after saving people from a fire. She looked at the smile with vigor and inspiration in her eyes. Even though the world wanted her to give up her dream, Nemuri saw that glint in her eyes.

"Izumi?" she asked when the little girl pointed weakly at the image of All Might

"D-Do you see that Aunt Nemuri? T-There's always a smile on his face, no matter how bad things get. E-Even when things seem impossible, he never gives up. I-I just wanted to be a hero like him. Like you…" tears streamed into her cheeks and Nemuri began to tear up as well.

"M-Mom t-took me to a doctor, and he said I was… t-that I was Quirkless." She continued.

A tear rushed down Nemuri's cheek as she embraced the little girl.

"I just wanted to be like him. Like All Might."

"I'm sorry Izumi, if only things were different." Nemuri muttered softly, tears in her wake.

"D-Do you think I could be a hero someday?"

Nemuri didn't respond. Nor did she ever did after that day. Knowing the truth and keeping it away from her had hurt so much. If she only knew the reason why…

Izumi on that night however, had lost almost all her courage and hope.

Yet her dream of being a hero remained.

* * *

10 years later…

She had a grin plastered on her face after just seeing a battle between heroes and villains that took place. Her journal had once again been filled with notes from her happy and uplifting experience watching the events that transpired. Watching Kamui Woods, a new but widely praised hero do his work was a blast to see. Even the sudden intervention and debut of the hero Mt. Lady made her no less happy. Although she did feel that the way she flashed her body was unnecessary but she took no mind of it. She had all the notes she had for the two of them and it proceeded to bulk up her journals to another degree. Walking away from the scene with a small zip to her step, she began to walk her way to school on her usual path. She re-adjusted her glasses and fixed some of her wild flowing short hair while walking the busy streets. It was still a little early for her classes to start so she was in no real hurry

She put her notebooks back into bag and felt her phone vibrate.

Turning it up, she saw that a message was on. Unlocking her phone she found that it came from her Aunt. She smiled at it and began to see what she sent her.

AuntNemu: Good Morning my sweet! Sorry if your beloved auntie left early for work. Things are cooking up for a class that I was teaching, so they called the teachers early this time around.

FireFlower: It's okay Aunt Nemuri! Honest :) we can just share those cookies I made for you later.

AuntNemu: Oh really? I forgot about that. Dang. :( :( :(

FireFlower: As busy as you are, I can understand.

AuntNemi: I'll make up for it later! Maybe we can have a nice dinner tonight. My treat!

Izumi smiled at that offer.

FireFlower: That sounds great. I can't wait for tonight then!

AuntNemu: You better… oh and Izumi dear, I hate to ruin the mood but you should know that your mother is coming home by the weekend. I know its sudden, but she told me that she got an early break for her work this time and is happy to see you.

Izumi stopped walking. Almost all sense of happiness drained from her body. She never truly hated her mother. She knew in some way she did care, but that didn't mean she liked her. Far from that. The only proper mother figure in her life was her aunt, and after all this time even with the 'ways' of how her mother showed appreciation for her, she only felt a cold shoulder.

Her phone vibrated again.

AuntNemu: Izumi? Are you still there?

She wondered what to message back to her. It took her three tries but she was able to send back a message.

FireFlower: That sounds wonderful. I hope she comes home safely.

AuntNemu: Izumi? Are you sure you're okay?

FireFlower: I'll be fine, let's just talk about this on dinner tonight.

AuntNemu: Alright, see you then. I love you *smooch

FireFlower: Love you too Aunt Nemuri ;)

She pocketed her phone and started to walk again. People and cars passed by her. Some with various faces and looks that she felt was either a part or extension of their quirks.

If only she had one.

The only thing she had was a quirkless diagnosis, and a condition with her brain that seemed to make her whole body weaker. Which is why she took pills from time to time. Getting off her medication did result in rather violent headaches. Luckily her mother and her aunt were able to save her during those times.

Putting those depressing thoughts aside she maintained a daily routine for her that tested the limits of her weak body. She was able to walk normally, move normally, and be physical enough to be average, but when exhaustion arrives it hits her hard. Luckily she trained her body to at least prevent it from happening frequently. Her condition also attacked her eyesight somewhat, forcing her to use glasses to focus. She did not mind her disabilities, she just wished that she had what almost everyone had.

Which was a quirk.

After walking for a few minutes she paused from her stroll when she saw a familiar looking bookstore that she favors going into. She stared at her watch and noticed that she still had time to make a stop here. Happily smiling all the way she entered the shop and was greeted by the staff who worked there. Being a frequent patron, she was well-liked by the store's workers.

"Well if it isn't Greenie herself. Aren't you supposed to be in school young lady?" the manager of the store said as she greeted her.

"I still got time for a stop Sakura-san. I just wanted to take a few sneak pics at the new releases. Maybe I'll buy some if I have the time!" Izumi cheerfully said. It made the middle-aged lady feel a little bit better when the girl flashed her smile. She nodded at her.

"Well you go on… wouldn't want to disturb your book-hunting routine right?"

Izumi smiled again and began to wade into the new releases. Books from every form and kind overflowed this place. It was smaller than the other more well-known bookstores around this area but she preferred this place for one small thing in mind. It was books about quirks, manga, and comics from every kind and place. It was a bonus too to see All Might-centered material and when she had the money in hand, she bought as much things in this store than her what her original budget could handle.

She didn't care about it too.

She loved reading, especially on topics she genuinely had interest in and loved. She felt engrossed in all material she swam into. Every fandom, every merchandise, and every detail to love with her chosen books. Not even her mother's wrath could keep her. Well, not now since she and her aunt had an agreement to allow her to buy such things. Not wanting another repeat of a past incident.

She scanned the shelves and found almost everything in place was either something she was familiar with or something she had just read in the internet.

Nothing seemed to pique her interest in the slightest.

"Excuse me? Can I ask you something?" she heard a voice say. Turning towards the source of it, she saw a male student with a different uniform (likely from a different, private school) holding a book in hand. He was a bit taller than her by a half centimeter and was quite striking in appearance. Being that he seemed to have a very cold and frowning exterior, she also saw that he had an average boyish face as well as a distinct burn mark on the side of his other eye. His hair seemed to have two colors as well. The other side had white and the other was red.

Even asking the question politely, he had a neutral face on.

"Pardon?" she said.

"Can I ask a question?"

"O-Okay?"

"Are these books… appropriate for an adult woman?" he said as he presented three books in his hands. Most of them ranged from sweaty romance novels, some mature content (that she knew her aunt really loves), and a guide for… pregnancy and babies. She blushed both in embarrassment for him and the books he chose. She also had a questioning face atop it all.

"Uh…"

"So… are they?"

"I'm sorry… why were you asking me? You could have just asked someone in charge of the store. Not that it's a problem asking me of course… it's just that, uh you know."

The boy looked at her with a questioning look as well and began to see the choices he had taken. He then looked back at her and tried to weigh in what the girl had just said.

"Well, I assumed from hearing that manager over there that you seemed to be a frequent buyer here. With that, I thought you'd give me better advice in trying to pick books for my sister."

"Oh…"

"Unless you don't want me to interlude in your business that is."

Izumi waved her hands to stop him from thinking that way.

"No, no. it's not a problem at all. I'm just surprised you asked me of all people. I'm not much of a social person you see. But if you indeed need help I can happily oblige." Saying this with a small flash of a smile she reckoned would knock her out of his deadpan expression.

He seemed to grumble in response, so she assumed it failed. She giggled nervously after. He paid no heed of it and offered the books again.

"Then can you say that these are appropriate books that she would like?"

She then took the books to examine them. It still made her blush as to what content these had. Doing so allowed her to recall one of the books her aunt had in her room. Her aunt had tried to stop her from reading one such book, but it was too late and she was able to read (albeit she couldn't understand it back then) some parts of it. These were no different.

"Can I ask you a quick question before I say anything?"

"Mmph… what is it then?" he asked with an almost annoyed tone. A drop of sweat began to trickle on the side of her head. Clearing her throat, she continued.

"How old is your sister?"

"I thought I made it clear earlier that she was an adult woman?"

"No what I meant was how old she is. It'll help me at least assess whether she likes this stuff."

"Twenty-two."

_Well that clears things up a bit._

"Well I think she is qualified to read this sort of stuff, but I don't think it's something she'll enjoy you see…" she said with while scratching the back of her head.

"What gives you that idea?"

_Didn't he read the titles or at least the synopsis in the back? These are some pretty adult books._

"You're not a book reader aren't you?" she asked.

"I am, just not these types of books. My sister loves this so I wanted to buy her some."

"Alright, I'll be honest with you then." She gives the books back to him and began re-adjusted her glasses with a smile again. The boy wondered what on Earth she was doing.

"These are things even a twenty-two-year-old woman wouldn't read that much. Thankfully since you asked me, I can help you with some books that I know your sister will enjoy. Regardless of what kind it is! I'm sure she'll love it." Having a very good knowledge in books in general and also seeing the kind of material her mother and aunt read, she had a general idea on what to pick.

The boy then tilted his head in response.

_That's it? Is this guy really that emotionless that he can't even muster any other emotion besides a small scowl?_

"Fine." As he said this, Izumi happily laughed a little and gestured him to follow her. The boy followed her.

"What about these things?"

"Put them back and return to me while I find some of those books I told you about."

"Alright."

"Don't worry the choices I have won't disappoint! I assure you."

"Okay I guess." He deadpanned as he walked away to return the books he took earlier. Izumi then began to search some choices in the general fiction area she went to. Agreeing to help the clueless boy made her determined a bit. She did in fact like helping people, even when it was something she was sure she would have difficulty in, she dared not turn away any person that wanted her help. Even with this emotionless boy, she would help him.

After finding some choices that ended with awkward laughs from her and a few more deadpan looks from the boy, they managed to quickly cash in some of the choices she recommended. The manager of the store then reminded Izumi about the time, and after a few more laughs and smiles from her small visit of the store, it was time to leave for school. The boy and her walked outside side by side and he proceeded to bow in front of her.

"Thank you for helping me. It was a pleasure knowing you."

"Y-You didn't really have to do that. It was a nice change of pace to help someone my age for once. I should thank you as well for an enjoyable experience."

"Likewise."

Izumi giggled at his response.

"Something funny?"

"Nah, don't mind me. See ya around!" she said with a wave and took off to her school. She smiled one last time towards him and she was gone. Leaving the boy in the middle of the sidewalk by the bookstore. He looked at the plastic bag he had that contained the books he bought.

He then walked the other direction.

"She seemed nice." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Being the first one in the room had its perks. It was quiet. No other classmates could ruin her note-taking and being alone was really enjoyable to her standards. Scrolling through her phone for more info about Mt. Lady the debut heroine she had just saw about an hour ago, she began to write away to her enjoyment. Until a certain blonde boy had taken her pen.

Looking up she saw someone really familiar enter her vision. The blonde boy himself, Katsuki Bakugou was looming over him with distaste and annoyance. She gulped in fear as to what would happen next. She was new to this school this year, being that her mother always transferred her to multiple schools every now and then when 'incidents' happen. Being quirkless and all, and with the added benefit of having a medical condition that made her body weaker. Ridicule and teasing was all around her. Every single school was like that, not even developing a sense of friendship with any kid made it worse. Even though she maintained a very friendly demeanor and that small hopeful smile on her face, no one seemed to care for her. Which lead to situations like this, being sent into another school and situations where her mother would lash out to the students' parents that had teased her or bullied her. It did not end well for both parties.

Now, it seemed like the same could be said here. With the unofficial prodigy student of this school. She was puzzled as to why after the last few months that she started in this school, why would he take notice of her now? She grew nervous.

"What're you doing mophead?" Katsuki said to her. Staring at him seemed to aggravate the guy more. She shook her head and smiled at him.

"I was just doing some notes before school starts."

"What kind of notes? This here doesn't read any of our subjects at all." He said as he gestured towards the title she had written on the notebook. Hero Analysis Book No.13.

"W-Well I'm sort of a sucker when it comes to heroes so I uh, write about them. About their quirks and whatnot." She said with a shrug.

"Hmph. You're new here right?" Katsuki asked.

"Y-yeah… a transferee. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, out of all the classmates we have here… mophead, I seemed to notice ever since you joined us that you haven't once shown us your quirk. Why is that?"

Izumi's smile faded.

"I uh… my quirk isn't really something worth mentioning you know… it isn't as strong as yours." She said in an attempt to try and flatter him. Taking notes and watching by the sidelines allowed her to see and analyze all the quirks her classmates had. Some base in interpretation, and some a bit detailed.

"Well at least someone acknowledges how strong I am. Thanks." He said with a grin.

"Y-You're welcome…" she said as she tried to take the pen he took from her.

"I wasn't finished yet. I'm came here to ask your quirk and I'm not leaving til' you show it."

Izumi tried to hold her smile but it was barely holding right now. The pressure edged into her head as anxiety took over. She didn't want another repeat 'incident'. Hate towards the people that did bully her or tease her was non-existent. She could never blame them, it was true. In actuality, she was far more concerned on what her mother would do to the school and to her classmates. This lead her to be feared more and people would get out of her way in fear. It was only since recently that when her mother had taken jobs abroad and would go home sporadically where she was allowed a bit of freedom for herself.

"Uh… you know it says in the law that illegal usage of quirks is banne-"

Katsuki slammed her desk and after holding her pen, she saw it break in half.

"Are you hiding something from me mophead? Are you looking down on me? You think your quirk is so special that you need to hide it from me? Huh?"

"No… why would I do that? Like I said my quirk… my quirk isn't something special."

"Then why are you hiding it? Maybe you think your quirk is so much goddamn better than mine that you think mine is worst? Is that it?"

"No… why would you think that way? I already told you-"

"THEN SHOW ME! Prove to me that what I'm saying isn't true."

"I uh…"

Katsuki could see that the girl was frightened. Even the girls in his class teased her a lot for being weird, lonely, and being weak. When she joined the class their homeroom teacher told them about her condition, that her head was not right and it weakened her body significantly. Resulting in lower grades for physical education, but higher and almost on par with his in terms of academics. He couldn't help it that this girl seemed to have secrets from him. Not that he cared, but since he wanted to strive for the top he needed to do everything to do so.

He never got the chance to talk to the girl until now. So asking her while classes haven't started was to his benefit. No other useless classmate had entered their class yet, so he was lucky to have her all to himself.

"Let me ask you this nerd… what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Izumi was surprised by the sudden shift in tone. but she treaded carefully. The question however seemed to unintentionally resurface some very undesirable memories from her. The most prominent ones were the constant argument she had with her mother regarding her dream. Naturally, she would lie to Katsuki right here and now to avoid a scene. Yet she didn't want any other person to mistake her for having that dream. So she had to answer with as much truth as she could muster.

"I want to be a hero." She said simply with determination.

It took a minute before he could respond. His face said it all.

Before Izumi could try and explain to him, he laughed loudly. Making her tilt her head in question.

"Y-You? A hero? Don't make me laugh… Ha! You wouldn't even work as a sidekick with how weak you are. Come on, mystery quirk or not you're not cut out to be a hero mophead."

A feeling of pain came to her gut as she tried to look away.

"Holy crap… I haven't laughed like that in a while. You're pretty funny."

"I-It isn't funny."

"Come again? Did you just say something to me?" he said with a small hint of threatening in his voice. Izumi never backed down though.

"I want to be a hero, and as much as anyone says that I can't. I'll prove it to you all! I will be a hero." Determination was laced in her voice. So much so that it even impressed Katsuki somewhat.

"Well the little mophead's got some bite. Then let me ask you this then, how are you gonna be a hero you little useless turd?"

Izumi's face faltered yet again.

"I-I… I just have to be. I don't care how." As she said this, Katsuki started giggling,

"You're really something aren't you? Wow, I never thought someone as useless as you would think that way. I'm almost convinced in not knowing what your quirk is. But since you're so determined to be a hero, regardless of how impossible it is… maybe your quirk is as weak as you say."

Izumi didn't know whether she would accept that as an insult or a somewhat functional line of praise. Katsuki then threw her the pen with the notebook, with Izumi barely trying to catch both.

"Still though… I think I like you somewhat. Maybe I'll let you be my sidekick someday and you'll help me instead of pursuing that pathetic dream. You still owe me something first."

"W-What?"

"You owe me the pleasure of knowing what your stupid quirk is."

"Why would I owe you that?"

"Well for starters… I like how stupid you are and maybe something like that which'll make me laugh someday can be useful. You can even maybe join my agency one day and I'll guarantee you'll get a job as my helper." Saying that with a grin made her feel uneasy.

"T-Thank you?" Katsuki laughed again at her.

"And I think I have just the name for you… Deku."

"Deku? Wait, I never agreed to that. Or any of the things you said." She argued.

"Don't care… starting today you're gonna be useful to me. Remember that as I sore to the top 1 spot." He said with a large smile on his face. His red eyes full of energy and soul to accomplish his dream. He was now walking away when a few of their classmates just arrived.

"Hey! I never said that I'd accept your stupid offers."

"We'll talk later Deku, and maybe you'll show me what that useless quirk is." He said as he waved and went to his seat. Their other classmates started watching them but didn't mind as their homeroom teacher arrived shortly.

Izumi slumped back on her chair.

Her thoughts in a blender. For one part, she was glad that didn't escalate into something bad and another she was sort of relieved that the resident tough guy of the school seemed to… at least tolerate her existence. Even if his motivation for doing so was… strange.

Unfortunately, now that she was in this strange partnership (which she was forced into). She couldn't help but be scared if Katsuki ever asked and forced her to show her non-existent quirk to him.

She sighed. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

"Alright class as we talked about yesterday, we're going to have to make an essay in commemoration for the victims of the Aldera Tragedy fourteen years ago. The holiday is coming soon so we'll have to give tribute and pay respect to those lost in the tragedy. Also remember that all your essays are to be sent to event to commemorate the country's loss. Since all the senders are from schools in your grade, the lucky participant will get his or her essay be read out aloud by All Might himself." After hearing the last part of the sentence, every student jumped into the idea. Even Katsuki. Izumi on the other hand had a dreamy look on her face as she thought about her work being read by her hero.

"So do your best and maybe yours will be chosen."

Everyone began to take out their papers to start their work until…

"Oh and since this event is national, I need to check your papers for errors and corrections. Wouldn't want a bad paper to land in All Might's hands right? So, if your paper has five or more errors. It won't be accepted. Consider this both as participation and a mandatory requirement for your grades." Saying this had dimly brought down the mood of the class. Leading for some to complain towards it and some downright scared for their cut. Izumi simply took it as a means to better herself more.

"You're on teach! I'll show you how good I am that I'm sure to be the top 1 hero someday." Katsuki yelled as the whole class groaned. He happily took his pen and began to write as fast as he can. Too happy in fact.

Izumi then looked at her paper and tried to think of something to write. A thought then came to her head and with a small smile of determination, she stared writing. Hoping that her paper was the one to be read by her hero.

* * *

The school day was finished. After handing in the paper that she had written with all her heart out, their classes had continued as usual. By the end, they were all put in a career aptitude test, which literally ended with all of them wanting to enter the hero course. It was obvious really, her classmates were really happy for that and she shared that sentiment. Nobody seemed to pay attention to her being one of them of course. She was invisible to them. The one that did in fact get attention was Katsuki, which proclaimed that he was enrolling for U.A. for his high school. Everyone was shocked and surprised at first, since U.A. was known for its really low acceptance rate.

Katsuki was a model student of course. Well… mostly. He had a very powerful quirk too and Izumi reckoned that he would more or less pass the exam with flying colors. Unbeknownst to everyone in class, Izumi was determined to apply there too. Not just for the reason that her Aunt was a teacher there, but that she was determined to prove herself. Quirkless or not, she was determined to be a hero

Even if her mother stopped her, she wouldn't care. She would achieve her dreams. No matter what happened. She wanted to prove to her that she can and that she didn't need protecting.

As classes ended, she sneakily left the school. Making sure Katsuki never found her. She was still a bit nervous about talking to him. Especially since she had no quirk to speak of. Fortunately, it seemed like she succeeded and she left the campus without him in sight. Walking home on her usual route.

Her essay was heartfelt when she wrote it, she poured all her feelings into it. Hoping that it was the one to be picked. Hopefully.

She smiled as she walked home. The people were busy today in preparation for the holiday a week from now. Ever since she could remember, she knew that it was All Might that spearheaded the holiday to be celebrated in remembrance for those lost in that night.

She heard stories about it of course. On what happened, a literal city overnight had been massacred and as much as the media tried to blame it on multiple villains over the past few years everyone knew that after that event the Hero All Might was devastated. She recalled that no survivors were found and try as they may they hadn't found any culprit to trace back to with this crime.

All Might had doubled his effort being the symbol of peace years later and now, with his efforts peace had been enjoyed by people everywhere. Villains were genuinely afraid except for a notable few and crime rates were at an all-time low.

He still maintained that smile on his face. Which was one of the reasons Izumi admired her hero so much. Even in failure, even in strife, he still endured it with a smile and saved the day in the process.

She was now walking under a tunnel as she thought about those things. Her smile needed to be ever-present like All Might's was. She would save people someday with the same smile that would make their-

A dark shadow loomed over her. She barely noticed it at first, and her heart skipped a beat. She turned around and behind her was someone who had a sludge-like quirk. His eyes and intent were malicious. Izumi's heart stopped as the sludge had a maniacal smile.

_A villain? _

"Well what do we have here? Such a cute little girl would do wonders as my disguise… hehehe, no one would notice a bit. Perfect." He said with a reverberating voice inside the tunnel. Izumi's eyes widened in fear. She instantly took off her bag and threw it at the villain. She then started to run as fast she can away from it.

Being weaker in stature and physique, she barely got far when the villain using its slime like tendrils lashed out on her and grabbed her legs. Violently making her crash on the floor after being unbalanced. As she hit the ground she felt her chest heave in pain. Her glasses was thrown out of her eyes and as she saw in her blurry vision, they were smashed by one of the tendrils.

"Don't worry girly, I'm just gonna use your body for a bit. It won't hurt I promise, you'll feel like yer just sleeping. Just let go and let me take over." It said as it wrapped around her body and was quickly trying to enter itself in her mouth. She tried fighting back with her weak arms as the villain enveloped her so much that air ceased to surround her. She was slowly losing consciousness.

Tears trickled down her cheek.

_I don't want to die… please. Someone help me!_

She tried screaming, but the villain stopped her from it by moving into her mouth and quickly tried to enter in here forcefully. She was losing it… fear drenched in her body as she felt like she was going to die.

_I want to see Aunt Nemuri again… _

Darkness began to overtake her blurry eyes as she tried in desperation to claw her way out.

_I still want to prove to mom that I can be a hero…_

"That's it kid… just let go. It'll be easier for the both of us." He said as sound seemed to just echo in her ears.

_It can't end this way… I won't let it._

Then it happened.

Suddenly, redness seemed to fill her vision and to the villain's surprise tendrils of red electricity seemed to emanate from the girl's eyes and it struck the villain between its eyes. He screamed in pain as it attacked his mental and thought process. He shrieked in pain and the villain exploded in half from the trauma. Izumi gasped for a breath as her blurry vision cleared, the redness vanished in an instant. The red electricity disappearing from view.

She didn't notice that it was her doing that blew the villain apart by half. In her thoughts, her only wish was to get out of here and call for help. She was trying to leave with the remaining strength in her arms when the villain reformed and was about to envelop her again. Furious this time.

"YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH! That fucking hurt! Now I'm gonna fucking kill you for real this time and I'm not going give a shit if it hurts or not!" he yelled as he once again violently tried to overtake her.

_No. Not like this…_

"TEXAS SMASH!"

Then the both of them felt as if a powerful gust of wind had just hit them. The sludge villain blew into a million pieces and as Izumi was about to crash on concrete, she saw a faint image of her hero All Might with that smile on his face punching towards her decision. Wondering if her brain was playing tricks on her, so she smiled one last time.

She blacked out afterwards.

* * *

The first feeling she felt after blacking out was a sensation on her cheek. Like someone was trying to wake her up albeit in a quicker manner. She slowly opened her eyes as sound was returned to her ears.

"Hey wake up! Hey!"

Her blurry eyes miraculously cleared out and she saw what seemed to be All Might with that infamous smile towards her.

_Oh great… I'm dead and this is heaven._

"Thought we lost you there!" the large man said.

"H-Hi All Might… I'm glad to see you, even if it isn't real. I'm glad you're here." She muttered.

All Might had a puzzled look on his face.

"Are you alright my girl? Did that villain do something else to you before I arrived?" All Might asked. Izumi smiled, the afterlife it seemed made her feel better with such a lifelike All Might here to greet her.

"I-I'm fine. Even though I never got to live my life to the fullest." She muttered to herself again.

All Might then put a hand on her forehead. She didn't seem hot at all. He then began to laugh when he realized what she was thinking about. Izumi continued to smile when she heard how seemingly lifelike and close All Might's laugh was to the real thing.

"That was a nice little chuckle you gave me there my dear. But I assure you, I am real. You didn't die, and I was able to save you from that villain just in time." He then made a thumbs up and a glint seemingly shined from his teeth as he grinned at her.

_Hold on… wait, this was real? I-I'm not dead? _

"All Might? Is that really you?"

"You got it!"

Her world suddenly blared with such happiness that she sat up as quickly a she can and stared in a dumbfound manner towards the man. Not believing at all that this was happening, but it was and he saved her. Her hero saved her.

She then shrieked like a girl who enjoyed gossip (which she was not). But her excitement went up the roof when she began to fangirl all over the man.

"Well it seems you're actually holding out alright. Sorry if I was a bit late back there, but I got to you just in time!" All Might said to her.

"Usually I'm a put a bit more attention to keep bystanders out of harm's way but this city's sewer system was more complicated than I thought! Clumsy me…" he continued with that iconic laugh as Izumi tried to reel in that her hero was here.

"Anyway! You were a big help back there! You see, I've captured the evil-doer!"

He presented the two bottles of plastic he had in both his hands and in it was the remains of the villain she encountered.

_All Might is really here! The most amazing Hero in the world is here in the flesh! And he saved me. My day couldn't be any more better! Oh wait!_

"Oh my… I just forgot Mr. All Might sir, c-can I get an autograph?" she said as she rummaged through her bag and took one of the notebooks.

"Sure, everything for my fans!' he said as he walked over and within a second he wrote his signature across the whole notebook's two pages. As soon as he finished and handed the pen back to her, Izumi had her mouth agape when she saw the signature, the real thing now in her hands.

She then bowed at All Might through such a quick way that even All Might was surprised at with her enthusiasm. Proclaiming over and over that this will be an important heirloom to her family passed down to many generations…

"Well, I need to get this guy to the police so I'll be taking off!"

_Wait he's leaving? I have so many questions I need to ask him._

All Might then began to prepare for a take-off.

"Stay out of trouble and I'll see you around."

"All Might wait!" she shouted as she leapt at him.

**BOOM! **

He flew into the air at such speeds, and only now noticed that the girl had put her hands around his neck and clung on to dear life. Her heart beating in a million beats per second as they soared through the sky. Her hair wildly flowing behind her.

"Hey what the hell are you doing? I love my fans but this too much!" he said as he tried to shake her off. Izumi steeled her resolve as she clung to him.

"Let go!" he said.

"All Might wait! I-If I let go… I m-might die. For real this time! I can't fly you see?" she yelled.

"Oh… that makes sense."

"I-I just have a lot of questions for you! C-Can we please land somewhere safe?"

She felt the man sigh deeply and proceeded to land them on a roof a building a few seconds later. While trying to land he put a hand on his mouth to cover his mouth from his cough. A trickle of blood dropped on his hand and he wiped it off, not wanting the girl to see it. After his feet were on the ground, she steadily took her arms off of his neck and settled her feet gingerly on the concrete floor. The experience was exhilarating and she jumped up in joy afterwards.

"That was amazing!"

"Don't ask me to do that again my dear…" All Might said.

"Sorry… it was just cool having to experience that firsthand with my most favorite hero in the world. I-It honestly meant the world to me…" she said as a small tear of joy rolled down her cheek.

All Might turned to her and smiled a bit.

"You're welcome then."

"T-Thanks…"

All Might then began to turn and leave. He was losing time, steadily steam seemed to come from him. Izumi hadn't noticed it yet at first.

"W-Wait… what about my questions?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go. You can knock on that door and someone eventually will get you." Saying that while walking away from her.

"B-But…"

"No. I've wasted so much time already, I'm sorry but I need to go little girl. Write me a fan letter and send it to my agency, I may answer your questions then."

She reached out her hand as a memory resurfaced. Her heart sank and her smile faded once more.

_"Listen to me… this is the last time we'll talk about this. I don't care what Nemuri is saying to you, nor of the videos you watch. This is not what you want. This is not what I want for you. I want you to be safe. I want you to be away from all of this! I don't want you to be out there. So give up this delusion and stop trying. You don't have to try! You can just be normal… not like me. Not like that damn All Might…"_

No one she knew supported her dream. Not even her mother, not even her aunt had told her to reach for it. Now that All Might was here, she almost felt the same thing. Neglect.

She always seemed to feel that. Being a failure, neglected by everyone. It hindered her heart to some degree that her dream was a fool's hope. That everyone around her seemed to think the same. It broke her heart.

_"I'm sorry Izumi, if only things were different." Nemuri muttered softly, tears in her wake._

_ "D-Do you think I could a hero someday?"_

No… she wanted to know it from himself. She was determined to reach that dream. She wanted to hear it from All Might himself that she could achieve it. That it was possible.

To hell what her mother said…

She wanted to be a hero, and here was All Might. She was going to prove to everyone that they were wrong. That her dream was not a fool's hope.

_I am not going to give up._

She narrowed her eyes with a renewed sense of fate. She ran to All Might and stood her ground.

"All Might… just answer one question of mine. Please."

All Might stopped. He turned slightly back to her.

"Is it possible for me to be a hero, even if I don't have a quirk?"

All Might visibly flinched. Izumi clasped both of her hands together. Her heart beating ever so fast.

"I'm just a normal girl without any powers. My body's quite weak too… but my spirit is strong! I just want to achieve my dream. My dream to be a hero. Just like you… so I just want to ask-"

Not even noticing the man before her, he was now being enveloped steadily more by steam.

"Can I be someone like you?" she finished with all the power of her voice. Closing her eyes as she waited for a response. She opened them while looking down. Smiling like her hero before her. She played with her fingers.

"I have no friends… only my family with me. My mother and Aunt. It's not that I don't love them, but they don't seem to believe in my dream. I just want to prove them wrong. That I can be something like you. Someone who can save people's lives with a smile on their face. No matter what happens, no matter the crisis, and no matter how dark things are. I just want to be there for them someday where they'll feel hope in my presence. That's my dream All Might sir…" she said with a proud smile that instantly evaporated when in front of her, the steam dissipated and revealed a very sickly and thin blonde man.

In the same spot where All Might used to be moments ago.

Two blue eyes that were sunken deep into the skeletal man's face looked directly into her. No smile was present. Instead replaced by a deadpan stare that was leagues beyond compared to the deadpan expression of the boy she met earlier in the bookshop.

_What the hell?_

* * *

1857 Hours, Italy…

Inko was just checking out of a hotel. Her time in the country had come to its end. Eager to go home and see her daughter again soon. Her visit was nothing really worth of anything and the only thing she was able to do here that was useful was buy the pills for her daughter.

Walking with her trolley bag and purse, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out she noticed her friend Nemuri had just sent her message. Unlocking her phone and seeing what the message was made herself feel a bit lighter. The past month she spent here really stressed her out, so seeing her friend sending a message to her either by a greeting or updates about her daughter pulled her through.

Nemuri: How was the investigation?

Inko: Lead me to too many dead ends. Got nothing. Because of that I'll be buying a ticket to go home by the weekend. Tell Izumi about that please.

Nemuri: I'll tell her don't worry. What about the pills? She ran out of them four days ago.

Inko frowned about this news.

Inko: Ever since that new law in Japan for these kind of things, I've only managed to find some in the international black markets. I found an experimental one that is legitimate at least. Cost me a large price unfortunately but its legit.

Nemuri: I see. Are there no side effects like the last time?

Inko: Based on what the guy told me no… The research on Quirk Suppresants have been steadily growing under the radar. It's progressing really well here in abroad too. If my contacts with some international agencies are to be deemed correct, this may change the game in the future. I advise notifying your colleagues there if you want to warn them.

Nemuri: I'll keep that in mind. Just keep yourself safe there Inko. We'll be waiting.

Inko: I know.

Nemuri: And don't you dare break our agreement.

Inko: I haven't Nemuri. I haven't touched a soul since my name was forgotten. I assure you.

Nemuri: Good. I'll see you soon.

She returned her phone back to her pocket. Thinking about her time here with her investigation. Ever since that event years ago, the name she once took upon 'Jade' had faded into memory alongside her daughter. Recent events however seemed to force her to investigate the past. People in the dark started following her and she had no choice but to know the truth.

Hence she was here, one of the many destination she went to in tracing down the events that lead to that tragedy. Another dead end had come to her here, and she was starting to get impatient.

Hoping to relieve herself before she went home. She called upon a taxi to drive her to the nearest airport. One of them caught her waving and she entered the cab as the driver helped load her luggage into the back.

She sat inside the car and opened her purse. Beginning to check her bag if anything was left behind. After seeing the plastic bag full of pills for her daughter, she felt relieved and zipped her bag.

"Where to ma'am?" the driver asked.

"To the nearest airport please."

"Understood…"

Inko then began to circle her thoughts towards that night. She tried to recall some clues to trace her back to the client that released that job. After half a minute of having nothing useful she frowned.

She also noticed that the driver hadn't moved the car yet.

"I did tell you that I want to go the airport right?"

The man turned to her. He had a serious look on his face. Inko narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. She saw that the man had a necklace with a cross on the center of it.

"Inko Midoriya… am I right?" the man said.

Before he could react, Inko focused and the necklace on the neck of the man tightened. The driver then gagged as he tried to pull his gun from his holster, only for it to fly so fast out of it and land on the hands of Inko. She inspected the weapon and disassembled it piece by piece and it all fell to the ground.

The necklace tightened.

"What do you want with me?"

The tone of her voice grew more intimidating as the driver's eyes widened. She released her hold on the necklace and looked directly to the man.

"If I sense in any way that you're lying to me, I'll kill you right on that spot."

"S-So our assumption as true… you are the infamous Jade." The driver said.

The necklace tightened a bit again.

"That wasn't the answer I wanted from your mouth. Tell me what you want with me or else I'm going to introduce you to your God soon enough." She gestured towards the cross on his necklace which turned and was pressed to his neck.

"I-I'm just a messenger lady… m-my boss just wants to talk to you."

"Who is your boss then?"

"I-I can't say… I just have to take you to him."

"And if I say no?"

The man smiled at her.

"T-Then they'll be hell to pay."

Inko had a questioning look on her face. For the next few seconds, she smiled candidly.

"Cute, but I think it isn't warranted."

The cross forcefully inserted itself into the man's neck and he began to choke on his own blood. Inko focused on his body and kept him steady. He bled away and died on the seat. Inko raised her hand and objects from his pocket levitated in front of her. A phone, a wallet, and some ammo. She took the phone and saw that it had a passcode lock on it. She took out a plastic bag from her purse and floated to the phone into it. As well as the wallet. She would check those later.

The ammo she disassembled with a bit of focus like the gun and its parts fell to the floor.

She then took out her mask and wore it. The horn glowing green again as she focused her sensory zone and at the same time ignited the engine with the key. Slowly driving off while sitting in the back. Letting her quirk to move the steering and the throttle as she drove into the night.

With more questions adding up to the pile.

**END OF CHAPTER 1**

**Hope you guys liked it. Leave a review too and see ya in the next update. :) **


	3. II Sapling

**II.** Sapling

Nemuri was sitting next to a three-year-old Izumi whom was sleeping soundly on a bed. A IV pole was connected to her arm and she was medically induced into sleep. Nemuri wasn't a mother to begin with, but with the responsibility to make sure that this child had to be kept safe, she was forced into a maternal role alongside her best friend. Her best friend that re-emerged into her life a year ago. Stroking the strands of crimson hair on Izumi's head, she smiled lightly at her. Trying to make sense of it all as well as being as caring as she can, compared to the usual cold shoulder Inko would give off. Admitting to herself that Inko wasn't a model maternal figure to begin with, she began to grow soft for the girl and her condition.

One that both her and Inko agreed needed to be kept secret. She hated the idea at first, but seeing the way how the government handled these things wasn't really the best for the child. Especially since the blame would fall entirely on Inko, who admitted herself that while she was there to collect the bounty that night, it wasn't her hand that forced the tragedy. Leading to a very shaky but reliable truce between them. An agreement that Inko wholeheartedly agreed to follow.

She knew the sudden change of heart was bizarre to begin with. After all, Inko vanished from the high school she attended with her, she was more or less transformed into a selfish, battle hardened killer that only saved herself. Not caring for those around her, but after that night where she landed on her apartment with the child in her hands, she saw something different in her eyes. A look of fear and worry not just for herself, but for the baby in general. Something happened on that night that made her snap. She wouldn't blame her for not saying it, the horror she felt must have been so much that it turned her back to a reasonable person at best.

Taking those thoughts away from her head, Nemuri tried to focus on what was present. The girl. They needed to ensure she was protected, because if the world knew the truth of that night it wouldn't bode well for the Hero Society and Izumi herself. It would lead to countless bad scenarios, and worst of all Inko and her have no information still about the assumed 'client' that gave the money out to find her.

Those figures in the dark still remained and it was possible that she would still be pursued and used for her 'gifts'. The entire reason they were here in this undisclosed location right now in the middle of the city was to meet up with a doctor whom Nemuri trusted well enough to keep a secret. Inko stood guard outside the room where Izumi was asleep in, talking to the doctor who conducted a series of tests on her.

"Is she still asleep?" Inko asked.

She was at the door frame, leaning with arms crossed. Her green hair was flowing by her shoulder while Nemuri looked at the girl who had natural bright red hair. A brow furrowed while she laid her eyes on the sleeping girl.

"Yes… she's out for a few hours with the anesthetics we gave her. She'll be fine when she wakes up and probably won't expect a thing." Nemuri said with a bit of concern and reluctance in her voice.

"Good. He's almost done with the tests back there." Inko said with a wave of worry in her voice. She seemed to be disturbed at something. Nemuri noticed it blatantly on spot.

"What's bothering you?"

Inko tapped her finger on her crossed arms. A little too much was on her mind right now.

"A lot of this isn't adding up. It's too soon, even for her age."

"What do you mean?"

Inko uncrossed her arms and looked at her.

"Children only manifest quirks at around age 4 correct? I don't understand why hers already manifested at this young of an age and what makes this even weirder is when I found those people that were hiding her, her parents let's assume… were so afraid to be caught and found trying to hide her. I can't help to think that it implies she already had that unstable quirk of hers to begin with."

"So you're thinking that when those people tried to hide her, she already had quirk to begin with? Like when she was born she already had her quirk?"

Inko rubbed her head in frustration.

"I don't know what to think right now Nemuri. The whole ordeal itself has made me troubled so much. Do you remember when we first arrived, the moment specifically where she began to cry again? We almost died there if we weren't fast enough to calm her down."

Nemuri recalled the first few nights Izumi had in her home. It didn't end well for them at the first week. Luckily, Inko was able to recalibrate a mechanism that was the same thing with her mask. That dampened telepathic abilities. She managed to turn it into a headband of sorts as to not draw suspicion.

"Yeah, that was really something, but never mind that. Have you at least found some connections to that 'client' of yours? I've been researching on my side as well for quite some time, but in no way does any person in our database have any info linking to that supposed person. I have some close leads, but they don't really make sense to begin with."

"I don't have any as well… it seemed after that incident all traces of that 'client' had miraculously vanished overnight. That proxy number that was used to hire me wasn't functional anymore, and tracking it lead me to a dead end."

Both of them then looked at Izumi, calmly sleeping as if nothing was happening.

"What on Earth is this little girl anyway? A project perhaps? Made by villains? I did hear some whispers of such activity, but they aren't backed up that much." Nemuri thoughtfully said.

"I can't really say that myself… I have heard of such things, but no one had made a breakthrough yet. Well not all of it, some made breakthroughs but she's different than all of those 'experiments'."

"What makes you say that?"

"The two people that were hiding her called her 'special'."

"In what way is that relevant? I mean, you're kinda special too with your quirk. Telekinesis and some pyrokinetic control is nothing to laugh at. Some would even say you're special that way."

"I know that… especially since All Might exists, but you never saw what I saw on that night Nemuri. The depth of how far and strong her quirk was… it was something else and that was her in a crying mood. Imagine what would happen if some bad people who are worse than me get their hands on her. I don't think what happened in Aldera would even compare if she unlocks her true potential."

A dark thought loomed over them as they let the sentence simmer in the air. A chill came to Nemuri's spine. That event alone in which she witnessed by the news broadcast was scary enough to rattle her. She just couldn't believe that the small girl was capable of it.

"What did you get us into Inko?" she asked as she placed a comforting hand on the little girl's face. Inko looked at her.

"I'm not sure myself Nemuri…"

Hearing footsteps behind her, Inko looked and saw the doctor enter the room. He had a serious look on her face that Nemuri and Inko saw clearly. Almost as if he discovered something troubling.

"Can we take this outside? I'm sure the girl won't hear it, but I think it's necessary still."

Both of them nodded as Inko followed the doctor out. Nemuri looked at Izumi first and kissed her forehead before leaving. Closing the door slowly before joining the others. The doctor was on the desk of the run-down apartment they used for today. His tools were being packed slowly as Inko stood in the middle of the room expecting an analysis. Nemuri took a seat on one of the chairs available and waited.

"Doctor Shigechi? What's the situation? Did the tests go well?" Nemuri asked.

The doctor stopped packing his things and took off his glassed. He drank a glass of water that was on the desk and turned to them.

"Kayama… I trust you, you know that right?"

"Of course."

The doctor took his notes from the bag and took a deep breath.

"Well… there isn't a really good way in saying this but the kid has an abnormality with her."

"And?" Inko asked.

"Diagnosing it at first she seems normal at a medical stand point. The only problem is… she is too normal. Having that extra joint on her foot, she's supposed to be quirkless." The doctor said.

"Wait… but she has a quirk. We already told you that." Inko said in surprise and disbelief.

"I am aware that she has one Ms. Midoriya… but this is something entirely different that I don't think even the modern era of quirk research can understand easily."

"What the hell are you saying? No scratch that… what the hell are you implying?" Nemuri said in worry. The doctor looked at her.

"To put it in perspective… we probably haven't seen this phenomenon ever since the dawn of Quirks almost a century ago…" widened eyes were met by the doctor's almost calm and serious deduction.

* * *

Present…

Izumi wished she had her glasses still. It was like her eyes were playing on her. It was just utterly bizarre that her idol was just in her line of sight moments ago, and now here he was… replaced by a sickly middle-aged blonde man that was looking at her intensely. Her mouth was agape in shock.

"A-All Might?" she said slowly in shock.

The sickly blonde man sighed deeply. Before he could speak, the little girl walked quickly towards him and began to examine, poke, and see him as if she was examining him thoroughly. She also muttered incoherently at him.

"Y-You're realsothatmeansyou'renotafakesoOhmygoshAllMightishereandhe's-" she continued muttering as she did her little examine of him. The man didn't know how to react to such an invasion of privacy. He wondered if the little girl had hit her head while being attacked by the villain.

"Uh… pardon little miss. I afraid you're taking my personal space far too much for my liking." He said plainly at her. She immediately withdrew and smiled with a small laugh at him. Scratching the back of her head while speaking.

"S-Sorry it's just that I'm really surprised at you mister. What a nice All Might impression too, you did look like the real thing and almost had the same powers and skills-" a finger was put on her lips. Having met some very eccentric fans in the past, he was never really that surprised that they would think this way. Izumi stopped talking as the sickly man looked at her directly.

"Not that I hate you being so excited over me kid, but you're getting a little bit overboard."

"Oh…"

"And to answer our little misunderstanding… I assure you. I am indeed All Might."

Izumi's eyes widened in surprise at the proclamation, only to stop with a look of disbelief on her face. The sickly man thought she got the message until…

"Pfft… no you're not." She had a grin plastered on her face, stifling a giggle.

"Yes I am."

"I don't believe that."

"Why not?"

"Because… this! All Might is strong and he's always very big and heroic and you're-"

"And what am I exactly?" the man said with a brow raised. Izumi realized she may have unintentionally hurt the man's feelings. She waved her hands in the air to assure him not.

"S-Sorry… I didn't mean to. I'm just surprised. I mean… All Might is my hero. You really expect me to believe you, no offense but this isn't exactly how I imagined him to be. Not that I know him personally of course." Saying this made the man smirk a bit.

"Not all things are what you expect them to be kid… and yeah, I am All Might. As you can see-" he buffed up suddenly and with a pose or two, Izumi's eyes widened again as she did realize that it was him.

"YOU SEE NOW LITTLE MISS? I AM IN FACT THE REAL ALL MIGH-ACK!" he said as he suddenly deflated and a torrent of blood was ejected from his mouth. Izumi panicked and ran to his side, taking her handkerchief from her bag and handing it to him.

"You sure kid?" she nodded and he took the cloth and wiped his mouth.

"So… you're really All Might."

"Yes that I am."

"Not an impostor or anything? Or maybe even a brother?"

All Might looked at her with a brow raised again.

"How many times do I have to say that I am All Might."

"Sorry… it just seemed rather impossible." She said while twiddling her fingers.

"Nothing's impossible kid, especially nowadays."

Izumi couldn't believe still that this was her hero. The man she idolized so much in her whole life, turned out to be a sickly blonde man who puked blood. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She simply stared at him in awe as she waited him to finish wiping that blood on his lips.

To be honest with herself… she almost felt disappointed and sad that this was her idol. However, she turned that thought away and recalled the one thing that inspired her to be a hero, and that was to never give up, no matter what the situation was. All Might was living proof of that assessment and seeing him now further proved to herself that if All Might could do it, then so can she.

"You're looking at me a bit too intense there kid… you alright? You're not mad that I used your handky right?"

"No… not at all. I was just wondering, why do you look like this? Is this really the real you? Outside of Hero Work?"

"Not exactly."

"Then… can you at least tell me a bit as to why?"

All Might looked at her, the little girl wanted answers it seemed, so he looked around to see if anyone was hearing their conversation. Luckily no one was in their sight so he decided with heavy deliberation inside his head that he would tell her.

"You know how guys in the pool suck it in to look buff? It kinda works that way for me."

Izumi thought about it and pictured it in her head.

"You sure I'm not dreaming?" Izumi asked the man.

"Anyway… I wasn't like this in the past, so the same strong and smiling me you saw all the time was exactly my real form back then. Until recent years that is."

The tone of his voice suddenly changed, as if recalling a bad memory.

"W-What happened?"

"Can I count on you to keep your mouth shut?"

"Y-Yes… I may act like this, b-but I'm not exactly social and I don't really use the internet that much except for researching about heroes and stuff…"

"Good. Because the things I'm going to tell you now, only a handful of people know."

He raised his t-shirt and Izumi instantly felt a chill on her weak bones when she saw it. A multitude of scars that seemed to be stitched and healed through time was revealed to her. The scars looked severe and it seemed to indicate that whatever injured him was something that really critically wounded him. It broke her sanity somewhat, seeing that truth of her hero who was seemingly unbeatable was as human as the rest of us. She was genuinely shocked at it, seeing it first-hand.

"All Might… that scar…"

"Pretty gross right? I got this in a big fight a few years back. My respiratory system was basically destroyed. All the other surgeries to fix me had worn me out. After that day I wasn't the same as before. With that… I can only probably do hero work for more than three hours, four at my best. The rest of my time? I'm stuck like this; a powerless normal guy that no one would think is All Might."

"No way… you said a few years ago? I-Is this related to the Aldera tragedy? Because, to date that was the only time where you… where you failed." She said with a sad tone.

All Might smiled at her concern.

"As much as I still don't forgive myself for what happened there, it wasn't the reason little girl. Though what happened to me that caused this was close to that… I narrowly won that time and because of it, I got this as my condition." He took his hand away from the shirt and it covered his scars yet again.

"Most of the world doesn't even know about this fight, I tried to keep it under wraps ever since."

"Why?"

All Might stood up and looked up the sky and through the city. Laying his eyes on it with a look of determination.

"I'm supposed to be the guy that's always smiling right? I'm the symbol of peace. People everywhere have to think I'm never afraid. But in all honesty, I smile to hide the fear inside. Just a brief face I put on to keep everybody relieved." He closed his hands into a fist and looked at her.

"This job isn't easy kid… you should know that. Pro Heroes always risk their lives. Some villains… just can't be beat with powers. I hope you forgive me for saying that. But it's the blatant truth behind it."

Izumi paused. A dark shadow had cast itself on her always positive demeanor, which was now replaced by the same feeling she always felt….

Neglect.

Only this time, she heard it from the words that came from the one hero she always believed in. She was silent as she looked at him. A feeling of tightness around her chest was now coming to the surface.

"So to answer your question earlier… you asked me if you can be a hero? Without a quirk? I don't think it's possible. I'm sorry." He continued.

Izumi's whole world felt like it crumbled before her. Her eyes watered in response. All Might felt guilty for making the girl sad, but he had to lay in the truth for her. He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. Trying to comfort her somewhat. She didn't look at him nor said anything.

"You can always help people in different ways… you can be a police officer. As boring and uninteresting as it sounds, it's a worthy job. You'll get to catch villains too."

She didn't respond and he felt a bad taste come to his mouth. He started walking away, knowing that no matter what kind of apology he made would not be accepted by the girl. He opened the door to get out of this roof. But before he walked out he looked at the girl whom still didn't move in her place. A small feeling at the back of her head had started flourishing.

"It's not bad to have a dream… you just have to realize that your dream has to be attainable. Realistic."

Droplets of tears rained down on the concrete floor.

"E-Everyone says that." She muttered to herself. All Might didn't hear it. He simply sighed to himself and left the building. Izumi clenched her fists and sadly looked into the horizon. Tears stemming down her face as she walked to the edge of the roof. The winds down below cooled her wet cheeks. She looked down the street and into the sky. Almost as if her feet wanted her to jump off the edge.

But she remained still.

Even when the world said no… she had to continue believing. She just had to.

She simply sat on where she stood and sobbed in her own arms. Letting grief and sadness to come over her. Crying to her heart's content over yet another person who shattered her dream.

Worst of all… it was All Might who did it.

* * *

At the same time in another place…

Katsuki and two of his 'friends' were walking down a path together after they left school. Katsuki walked in front of the two with a relaxed look on his face. Almost as if he was a bit happier than most days. The two in his back began to wonder what caused his sudden signs of happiness. He seemed a bit too positive that they felt really surprised seeing him this way.

"Hey dude who do you think is gonna win the essay contest?" one of them said.

"It wasn't a contest you idiot. But if you wanna ask that then I'm pretty damn sure that my work is gonna be the one that All Might reads. It just has to be. I made it as badass and perfect as it can be." He boasted. True to form, his work did get a pass from their teacher, albeit for other reasons than the one he expected it to be.

"You're really sure with yourself huh?" the other classmate said.

"I have to be you dickwad. I'm gonna be the number one hero someday. I have to be sure and it will happen once I go pro. You better believe that!"

"Oh by the way man, I can't help but notice earlier today that you talked to the new girl. What's up with that?"

Katsuki turned to his direction.

"What girl?"

"You know… the shy girl with the green hair and glasses." His companion said.

"Oh shit, you're saying our man here talked to that weird girl? The one who barely talks to anyone and keeps muttering to herself?"

Katsuki looked at the both of them and he recalled the conversation he had with the girl who he proclaimed to be his sidekick someday. The one with the mystery quirk that she never shared to anyone.

"Oh you mean Deku? Yeah we talked. What about it?"

"Deku? Is that her name?"

His companion punched his classmate lightly in the shoulder.

"No it isn't… her name was… Izula I think? Oh wait no… it's Izumi! Yeah it was Izumi." He corrected himself. Katsuki and his other classmate raised their brow at him.

"Dude… you spying on her or something?"

"No! I just remembered the day she joined us in class. You do know that I sit in the front so I heard her name directly as she shyly introduced herself."

Katsuki shrugged and started walking again and he heard the two continue their conversation.

"She doesn't talk much huh? Not even to the girls?"

"Yeah… from what I heard."

"Yo Bakugou! What is it with her, why'd you talk to her anyway? And why'd you call her Deku?"

Katsuki continued walking and smirked. Recalling how the little girl acted that way around her. He liked that she seemed to agree with everything she said (Not). He was amused as to how stupidly determined she was in being a hero that she pitied her.

"I called her Deku because she's a useless dumbass and I talked to her to ask her about her quirk."

"Oh right… we haven't seen her quirk before." His companion said as he put a hand near his lips.

"What if she's quirkless?"

All three of them stopped and thought about it. Katsuki always had this thought that those without quirks should know their place. They couldn't be heroes, and they never will be. They had to accept that, and while he did think about Deku not having a quirk seemed plausible. The way she believed in herself with that stupid determination of hers lead him to believe her that she indeed had one.

"Shut the hell up guys… she's clearly hiding something. She wouldn't be in our class if she was quirkless. I'd make sure of that remember?" he said with a fist in the ready.

"You sound like you really like her. That's new."

"I do in some way… I offered her a job as my sidekick one day."

Both of them giggled to themselves. Katsuki instantly glared at them.

"Why are you two laughing?!" he shouted at them.

"Well it kinda sounds like you 'like-liked' her…" he said with a shrug. Katsuki then saw them laugh as he angrily growled and shouted at them with multiple curse words and insults. He ignited his explosion quirk on his hands and was about to teach them a lesson when they heard an angry roar was heard ahead from above them. A large slime-like monster crashed down on the dumpster next to them. The dumpster and everything in it melted and consumed by the beast.

**THOOM!**

It then slowly formed up and towered over them. Katsuki's eyes widened and he felt fear again after the longest time. Being the nearest, the slime monster's eyes laid on him and Katsuki Bakugou's 'friends' ran away in fear. Frozen in place, he simply scowled as he began to upstart his quirk in his hands.

The slime monster seemed to look at him in amusement. It grew violently upwards and was scorching every surface he could touch with his multiple tendrils. People began to notice and screams began. The chaos was beginning to start.

"Hello little boy! I just got a small little taste of a buff up I took a few seconds ago. Would you mind if I tested my new powered up quirk on you?"

He then laughed maniacally as Katsuki felt a drop of sweat trail down the side of his head.

He roared again, making the entire district to know that he was there. Police sirens began to fill the sound of the air as the symphony of screams had started.

Meanwhile, a person nearby was watching silently at the scene. Said person had a glass vial in hand. Playing with the empty cartridge while watching.

* * *

Toshinori Yagi or known as All Might was just walking down the steps of the building with the thoughts of what he said to the girl that rang in his head. He knew it was too harsh, but who was going to blame him? The life of a hero was hard and dangerous. True, he was a quirkless person back then but it was in a time when Quirks weren't that much common unlike today. Now, everything was different. It was life or death when it came to saving people. It wasn't common for Pro Heroes to die on the job. A pessimistic truth accepted by those who wanted to go through with this career.

He acknowledged how the younger generation perceived the notion of 'heroism'. Society simply blew them out of proportion in terms of being high and mighty. While he was very popular himself, he never took the job of 'heroism' to be something that the media portrays them. Which were those who basked in popularity, money, and only did it as a show. Like the dangers and stakes around them were nothing but fictional.

He had no apparent problem with that, as some of those aforementioned people did in fact still did their jobs. It was just a rather stupid thought for him that some would think that way. As he was one the old fashioned and clearly idealistic heroes. One that took pride in their jobs to act seriously. It was a bonus to his heart when he smiles (even in a fake manner) to cheer people up. He was in fact the Symbol of Peace and it was a role that he dreamed of and would still pursue to continue happening.

Yet… the real fact also loomed ahead, and it was that his time as a hero was now quickly coming to a close. He was barely able to be powered for such a long time, and even on his good days he was simply wilting as time progressed. His time was drawing closer and closer to that supposed abrupt finish.

It worried him to such avail that he wasn't sure what to do.

Deeply sighing to himself he wanted those thoughts to be rendered clear for now. He still had to send the slime villain to the nearest police station.

"At least I get to do something normal today, come on you we're gonna get you to-" Realizing that the pockets which he filled with the two bottles where he contained the villain was empty drew him silent.

"Shit." Putting a hand on his face he berated himself for acting like a damn fool. The bottles may have fallen out when he tried to shake off the little girl that clung to her while he was in the air. He sincerely hoped that nothing bad was to happen and that he would find those bottles in time.

He felt his body ready to at least give him a short burst enough to return to his powered form, but it was a hunch at best. He wasn't exactly sure if he could hold himself in without passing his daily limit.

He mentally slapped himself again for thinking so negatively. Walking faster down the stairs this time, he was beginning to reach the next set of stairs when he heard the door to the roof open. For some reason he stopped this time, knowing who it was that was climbing down.

It was the little girl. Her distinct messy hair seemed a lot more messy and her eyes were red. Possibly from crying. She also stepped down the steps as moderately fast as she can. Like she wanted to be rid of this place for good. She clutched her bag by the straps that Toshinori simply stared at her with a hint of guilt in his gut. Thoughts about the villain somehow vanished as his concern turned to her.

After getting closer, she didn't notice until now that All Might was staring at her. Rather apprehensively. She looked at him with no hate in her eyes, just a feeling of sadness.

"I-I should go h-home Mr. All Might sir… m-my folks c-could be worried for me."

"Little miss…" reaching his hand out to her, she simply smiled meekly. Her puffy cheeks tired from all the crying she just did. It made Toshinori's heart swell further.

"I-It's alright… I can go home on my own if that's what you're g-going to ask."

Toshinori withdrew his hand and letting it fall to his side.

Izumi walked past him. One thing however that she did notice while she was at the roof and crying was that at the back of her head a feeling of an incoming headache was taking root. She simply tried to steel herself as to not bother All Might, and that she was going home. She had dealt with these kinds of headaches before, it more or less ended okay in the end.

Walking down the steps with as much pace as she can muster. Toshinori could only let the girl be to not make the situation worse than it was. He wanted to give the girl some space, and maybe after this whole villain ordeal was dealt with he could talk to her aga-

He saw the girl collapse on her feet as she was walking down the steps. She fell to the side of the stairs on her knees. Shaking as both her hands clasped the sides of her head. Toshinori quickly ran to her side. She was holding back a pain that randomly sprang. A headache that suddenly jumped up with such pain that it never was close to her older episodes.

"Kid! Are you alright-"

"M-My h-head… i-it hurts-Aaagghhh!" she said with pain in her voice. The agony deepening and her vision filling up with red. Her hands were grasping her hair, almost like she wanted to rip them out. She was on the edge of tears trying her best to hold back the pain to no avail.

"I-It hurts…" she said weakly. Sobbing in tears on the floor. The pain escalated so dramatically that she felt something buzzing her head. Her ears felt like they were about to bleed with the pain. She was weakly trying to wail in the pain until Toshinori took her into his arms holding her close. One her hands grabbed a part of his shirt.

"Kid tell me what's happening. Can you stand at least? We'll get you to a hospital if you can." He said in concern. She was now clutching his shirt so tightly, the baggy clothes getting soggy with her tears. Her legs it seemed were weakening as well.

"C-Call m-my A-aunt please! T-tell her about –AAAAGGHHH! I-It hurts All Might… It hurts! H-Help me… I-It hurts so bad." Her voice was almost squeaking in tone.

"Do you have her number?" he said and Izumi slowly took the phone out of her pocket. Giving him the passcode and Toshinori quickly dialed the last number that she called on the phone.

Izumi's eyes were now almost filled with that red haze. She gritted her teeth in between sobs. The pain was becoming unbearable, like something was about to come out.

Toshinori was panicking, a girl was having a severe case of a headache in his arms and the damn person he was trying to call was not answering. This was the second try and it kept ringing still. He needed to move the girl fast to the closest hospital or clinic.

He needed to assess the situation somewhat. Maybe he could help somehow.

"Kid do you have anything in your bag that can help with the pain?" she shook her head in response to him. Her eyes were also getting veiny and red, making the older man pale into panic.

"Damn it answer the damn call! Come on!" he said as the phone kept ringing.

He heard a click and a voice of a woman came through.

"Hello sweetie! Look, I'm in the middle of a class today so maybe we can talk later, it's almost dismissal period so-"

"Hello? Are you this girl's guardian?"

"Wait… who is this? Who's calling? Where's Izumi?" the woman said. A clear tone of worry was heard. He then heard background noises that sounded like she left a room.

"Your niece is having an episode of sorts. I'm holding her right now and she's not getting any better. She said her head hurts so I'm trying to call you-"

"What's happening to her?" the woman worryingly asked.

"She says her head hurts. Her eyes are turning into some shade of red and she's trying to hold it all in." Toshinori then proceeded to pick up the girl in his arms and hurriedly walked down the steps. Hoping to find someone nearby to call an ambulance.

"Shit. Listen to me… I'm coming over as fast as I can. Don't get her to an ambulance or a hospital the doctors won't have anything to stop her condition-"

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" Izumi cried out suddenly and Toshinori swore he saw what seemed to be a moderately sized spark of red electricity surged from her forehead. He stopped on his tracks as Izumi's eyes for a second turned red and became normal. He laid down the girl on the floor next to a window. Izumi looking straight at him. A hand still on top of her head.

"What the hell was that?" the woman on the phone said. Izumi's head felt a fluctuate of pain and staleness that altered as the redness in her eyes came and went. Like a computer or device that was losing connection or was getting static.

"HEY! ANSWER ME DAMN IT! Is she alright?" the woman shouted on out of the phone. The phone call was abruptly cut by a rogue spark that short-circuited the phone. Toshinori dropped it in surprise. It shattered on the floor with the screen cracked.

Toshinori was both in shock and awe at what he was seeing. The girl didn't seem to be in pain anymore, but her red irises glowed weakly in the crimson color and her hair which was once green was giving off sparks of red electricity. Finally, some strands of her hair were beginning to turn red.

His eyes darkened as a memory resurfaced. On that one particular night fourteen years ago. He drifted those thoughts away when he saw that the girl was looking at her with worry.

"All Might? W-What's happening? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He pointed at her hair which had strands of red on it. The dye she had to color it green was beginning to fade away. She then saw her own hands, sparking weakly with the same red electricity that Toshinori saw on her head.

A look of surprise, amazement, and shock came to her senses. She couldn't believe it.

_I have a quirk?_

Before he could say anything back to her they felt a mild tremor that shook the building. Both of them then turned their attention to the window and saw a pillar of smoke rise from the city. Accompanied by another set of violent explosions.

* * *

Nemuri Kayama was nervous and was sweating profusely. The once calm and collected heroine known as Midnight was literally trying to calm herself as she drove her car into the streets, hoping to get to her niece as fast as possible. All traffic was in her wake, she dodged and weaved all of them in quick succession.

The call that came to her about Izumi's condition gravely made her both furious and afraid as to what may happen. The caller, a man she reckoned didn't say what happened to her and it abruptly cut as soon as she yelled into the phone. Much to her dismay, her class that she was teaching in U.A. had been listening in to her outburst. She quickly dismissed the class and in a rush told her co-worker Aizawa that she needed to bail. The man in question simply furrowed his brow and nodded at her direction. Seemingly not caring about it.

Quickly getting into car after that small interaction she turned on the engines and quickly drove out of the school campus which she was now in the middle of the road. While driving, she tried calling her Izumi yet again and like earlier there was still no response. She cursed herself by not making sure that this wouldn't happen again. The last doses of the pills they gave her was supposedly going to last them the year or two. Both guardians (herself included) slacked off a bit, thinking that such an event wouldn't come to pass again. As Izumi was pretty good now at regulating her emotions, and was mostly stable while she took the drugs.

This however was different, it was four days since those pills had ran out. Inko hadn't come home yet with the replacements. She figured everything was going to be okay in her absence. How wrong she was to think that.

She swerved into another road as she neared the city. She had no idea where the girl was, but since Inko had put up lots of precautions with the girl's phone, she managed to use the in-built tracker and located with her phone the last registered place the device was in. Hoping that she was still there, she calmed herself to think that nothing bad would happen and she would get there soon.

"Hang in there sweetie… I'm coming."

Deciding that it was best to call another contact about this, she proceeded to find the number she needed and pressed the call prompt. A few rings later, the one she called answered.

"Who is this?"

"It's Midnight doctor… I need you right now. Something came up with Izumi. I need your help."

"Kayama? What seems to be the problem?"

"I'll explain on the way when I meet you, I'll text you the address and we'll talk about it. You need to leave now. Just in case something bad does happen with her."

"Alright I'll be there, but can you at least tell me what's happening with the girl?"

"I-I don't know, I'm not with her now. The phone call that came from her phone was from a man who was trying to help her… he said she was having a very severe headache, worse than the ones she had in the past and that her eyes glowed with red." The doctor on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds.

"I'll be there as soon as possible." He said firmly.

"I'll send you the address." She said before the call ended. Her car stopped suddenly when a traffic build-up was in front of her, she wanted to rush in and not mind traffic but she reeled herself in. Trying to calm herself down. Nothing bad was to happen. She had to convince herself that.

This isn't like those other incidents. Izumi will be alright.

She would be alright, there's nothing to worry abo-

A thunderous sound was heard, alarming all traffickers within the vicinity. Accompanied by the sound was a quick image of what faintly seemed like red lightning that rose from the ground. Some people in their cars went outside and looked up. Some taking pictures as Nemuri's senses froze. A Pro Hero came and tried to calm down the situation a few seconds later.

Nemuri recalled the first time she saw such energy. It was too familiar not to miss. She quickly took her bag and bolted out of her car. Not caring whether she left it. Some onlookers recognized her but she ran to the city as fast she can, not caring for those that did.

She recalled how much destruction those red tendrils of lightning caused on that very fateful night. At the same time reminding herself how it felt first-hand when both her and Inko tried to calm her down as a baby in her apartment.

Fearing for the worst, she ran as fast as she can. Hoping it wasn't too late.

* * *

Minutes Earlier…

Izumi didn't know what happened after that. All Might quickly powered up and lifted her up on his arms and left the building. Trying to get to a nearby ambulance or medical staff that was close to the commotion. Halfway there he suddenly deflated, thankfully no one saw them as he rushed them into an alleyway. Puking blood again as he settled the girl on the sidewalk. Izumi panicked and tried to help him, only for him to take her hand and ran in the direction of the nearest authority figure or medical team.

Her eyes widened when she saw that a group of people was huddled closely near the destruction. Heroes and police tried to back the civilians away into a safe distance. She couldn't clearly see what they were all looking at, but based on the amount of melted and scorched debris next to the chaos, she understood that a villain was present and fight erupted. More smoke rose into the sky

Another explosion rattled their senses. Civilians and some of the police present ducked in cover. A car was thrown at the civilians out of the thick smoke only to be caught by the debut heroine Mt. Lady who instantly grew in size to shield the civilians. Izumi saw that not only one, but almost six pro heroes were present. It meant that something big was there in the midst of this. Something strong enough that not even one or two Heroes could stop.

` All Might took her hand and they went to a group of police alongside a detective that was barking orders left and right to keep the people out of harm's way. Some of the civilians were being filed out, forcefully or otherwise as the chaos intensified.

"Naomasa what the hell is happening?" the detective saw him and ran towards them both. Barking another set of orders when another smaller explosion was heard.

"We got a big problem in our hands. A villain just emerged from that street over there and started destroying anything and everything in its wake. We called in the nearest Pros we have in the vicinity and they haven't been able to contain this mess yet." The detective said to him. He hadn't noticed Izumi yet but she saw that both men were wearing faces that were somewhere the lines of dour and sullen sense.

"Are there casualties?"

"None as of yet thankfully but that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" the detective then gave the binoculars he had in hand and as All Might took it, he saw that his fears were proven true. This was the slime villain he apprehended earlier, larger and was seemingly more powerful than when he last saw him. He had a manic grin on his face as fire and smoke surrounded him. Everything it seemed that was near him seemingly melted and dissolved way, further alarming him.

What did caught his attention was something that seemed to be exploding inside the slime villain. Like something was trying to get out and was trying to blow his way out. A hand that was emitting small to moderately-sized explosions continuously appeared from the mass. Leading him to be horrified when he realized that a kid almost the same age as the girl he was holding was there. Inside the villain.

"All Might! Y-you're bleeding." Izumi said and he wiped a trickle of blood that seeped from his lips. Naomasa then noticed the little girl on his other hand and was surprised to hear that she called him 'All Might'. Toshinori gave him a look to stop him from questioning this, and the detective nodded.

"How long has the kid been there? And who is he?" Toshinori asked.

"Not long, but the kid won't last another few minutes. From what his classmates told us, his name is Katsuki Bakugou. He was the first one to encounter the villain up close before he got absorbed into the mass." Naomasa reported.

_Katsuki? My classmate Katsuki? _She thought to herself. Memories of that bizarre conversation they had in classroom a few hours ago came to her. Steadily, a dark thought began to emerge from her.

Seeing the villain in the middle of this all again she recognized that echoing laugh. As well as the tendrils of slime that shoot out and violently weaved into the air. Trying to keep the Pro heroes at bay.

Something dawned in Izumi. This was the slime villain, she began to realize slowly while recalling her talk with All Might earlier that the two bottles he used to contain the villain were gone from his pockets. Her heart sank again to this realization.

_T-This… this is my fault._

"Take this kid to an ambulance. She's hurt somehow." Toshinori said to the detective. It took her out of her shock instantly, leading her to look at him.

"No… All Might, the slime villain…"

"I know. Which is why you need to keep away from here. We'll deal with this."

"B-But… this is… this is my fault if I hadn't clung to you and-" Toshinori put a hand on her shoulder. Trying to ease her. He took out his phone and put it on her hands.

"Don't ever blame yourself for what happened here. We never would have thought this would occur. You hear me? This isn't your fault. Now listen to me closely. I want you to get some help and call your aunt. Tell her what happened and allow us to fix this mess." The firmness in his voice didn't go unnoticed. Naomasa looked at the both of them, expecting an explanation as to how the girl knew All Might's secret later.

Izumi simply stared at him.

"He's got my classmate." She said to him.

"We'll save him. You have my word. Now go… it's not safe here." She wanted to argue against it. Yet she knew he was right, no matter how she felt with this situation. It was far too dangerous for even her to intervene. The detective then relayed orders to a cop to escort her out. Agreeing reluctantly with All Might, she turned away as the police escorted her to an ambulance.

"Who's she?" the detective asked.

"Nothing important for now… what I want to know is why hasn't any of them even remotely tried to get the kid out of there?"

"Well, no one in the vicinity has quirks that can respond to a slime villain that has dissolving properties, Kamui Woods tried earlier, only for his branches to burn away as fast as that kid is trying to make himself explode."

Toshinori raised his brow.

"He was the one who I captured earlier, he was never this strong the last I saw him."

"I don't know what to say to you but- LOOK OUT!" the ground rumbled beneath them as all six other heroes tried to get away. Slime tendrils sprouted from the ground and tried to attack all those who were near. Toshinori was pushed on the ground by the detective, saving them from a tendril that sprouted exactly in front of them. Officers who were near tried to shoot the tendrils to no avail. The tendril then slammed itself on one of the officers, dissolving through their armor and clothes so fast that it singed their flesh. Firefighters in the vicinity aided by Backdraft a Pro that had a water-based quirk blew the tendril away forcing it back on the ground.

Kamui Woods reached out his quirk aided by Death Arms to get officers and civilians out of harm's way. Mt. Lady tried to ward the tendrils off, only to be pushed back, as even the slime was strong enough to eat away her suit. Laughing came from the villain as the chaos continued.

"YOU WORTHLESS TRASH! YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE THIS KID! HE'S ALREADY ON FUMES WITH HIS QUIRK. WATCH AS I MELT HIM AWAY FOR ALL OF YOU TO SEE. AFTER HIM! I'LL GET TO KILLING ALL OF YOU!" Maniacally laughing afterwards.

Izumi watched the entire scene unfold. It was like a nightmare. Her classmate, even though she hadn't known him for too long was quickly losing to the villain. As it seemed that he kept producing explosions around his body to ward off the dissolving slime away from him. It was working still, but even she could tell he was nearing his limits.

She hated herself for causing all of this. Blaming herself for what was happening, she wanted to at least do something. Her own soul yearning to recompense her mistakes. She was the reason All Might lost his time. Blame after blame came to her head. Some hero she wanted to be, she scolded herself.

She closed her eyes, angry for not even doing anything.

Opening them, the officer escorting her suddenly tackled her to the ground. A tendril sprouted next to them and the action of the officer managed to save them both. Only for the slime to turn towards them as the civilians and officers yelled at their direction. The officer pushed her away out of harm's way and slammed him to the ambulance. The slime tendril persisted and was about to attack Izumi next.

Mt. Lady saw it as she tried to take one of the tendrils off.

"KID! GET AWAY!" she yelled, her booming voice heard by everyone.

Izumi put arms up to defend herself. She knew it was futile but fear got hold of her. She expected the slime to burn her away on spot, only to be surprised when something different happened. Her eyes glowed in red and something met the tendril head-on.

**SPLAT! **

The incoming tendril exploded into a hundred particles. Splattering in the floor as the small pieces landed. Their dissolving quality seemed to have vanished, leaving an unharmed Izumi with some pieces of the slime in her clothes and hair. She was surprised at what happened. As if an invisible force was concealed around her had canceled out and ultimately destroyed the slime tendril before it hit her.

Her eyes reddened in her field of vision. Small sparks of red electricity buzzed around her head.

She was in awe for a moment at herself. A small moment of clarity and bravery came to her, alongside the small smile she was known for by those close to her.

_ This is my quirk…_

"AAAGGHHH! Why don't you die?!" she heard someone scream, and its voice belonging to the one and only cocky classmate of hers. Katsuki Bakugou. The Pro Heroes were still occupied trying to fight off the slime tendrils, not noticing that Katsuki was on the last vestiges of his strength.

Something stirred inside her, that made her stand up and run.

"Kid are you alright? Wait! Where are you going? It's not safe there!" she heard some officers say as she weaved through the commotion. Running as fast as her feet could take her…

Towards the slime villain.

Toshinori and Naomasa was watching the scene continue on as the rampage escalated. Blood continued to seep into his lips as he tried again and again to power himself up. Only for the pain to spread in his body. The detective tried to hold him up as they both saw the boy in the middle of all of this, losing his last ounces of strength. Both fearing for the worst to come.

Then Toshinori saw a little girl with bright crimson hair and faded green tips running towards the villain. Her head was crackling with some of that red energy and she wasn't stopping. Toshinori felt the gravity of the situation explode in his body as he tried to reach his hand towards her direction.

"KID! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled, only to fall in deaf ears as she continued bolting towards the villain. He grabbed the detective's trench coat.

"We need to get her out of there!" he said.

The detective then called out to Kamui Woods who was still occupied with his slime tendril, but he got the message and saw the girl halfway towards the villain. He aimed his other arm towards her, only to be dissolved by another tendril when it neared her.

As it all transpired, Izumi determinedly looked at the Slime Villain with angry and ready eyes. It didn't take long for the large mass of dissolving slime to see her, instantly recognizing her the moment his eyes drifted to her.

"OH LITTLE GIRL! IT'S YOU AGAIN! GOOD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT LITTLE CRAP YOU MADE ME GO THROUGH EARLIER!" Another tendril was thrown into her direction, only for him to be surprised when the tendril burst into a million pieces after it neared her position. The villain recalled this sensation and saw that the girl had had glowing red eyes and crackling red electricity around her.

"Katsuki!" she shouted, and the boy's weakening eyes looked in surprise when he saw the girl he talked to earlier back in school was rushing towards him.

_Deku?_

"YOU WON'T DO THAT STUPID TRICK AGAIN TO ME GIRL!" the villain said as multiple other appendages of his formed behind him, ready to rush the girl.

"Take this ugly!" she responded, unclasping her bag and threw it right into the eyes of the villain. Hitting him exactly where she wanted it to hit. Giving her time to reach out her hand to try and save her classmate. She reached him in time and gave out her hand.

"Deku?" Katsuki said in confusion.

"Come on! You told me you'd be the number one hero someday remember? Then show me! Help me get you out! I'm not giving up on my dream, and you're not giving up on yours!" she screamed. Katsuki angrily nodded at her direction and mustered all the strength he had and tried to blow himself out of the mass of slime. He then grabbed her hand as she pulled as much as she could.

**BOOM!**

The moderately sized explosion was enough to free him as they both crashed to the ground in front of the villain. Izumi's hand still on his and as she saw him, he was losing consciousness with the fatigue he experienced.

_I did it!_

She was about to smile until a shadow loomed over her. It was almost too familiar of a sensation. Like the first time the villain took her over. Fear yet again crept its way into her heart, but this time the villain was angrier.

But she stood her ground.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH! TIME TO DIE!" he yelled as horror came into each of those who watched the scene. Specifically, Toshinori himself who tried to force himself to power up. The slime rose to such a height to crash down on Izumi and Katsuki. All of them witnessed her bravely standing her ground towards the villain.

The slime then barreled down on them. Katsuki expecting himself to die as he saw his vision darken with Izumi in the center of it. Crackling red energy all around her.

"I'm not afraid." She said to herself and her eyes glowed brightly in red. She raised her hands to try and expel the red energy, only to realize that nothing happened. Then in sudden fashion, the slime crashed down on them.

Onlookers and some Pros screamed as the two young students were gone.

Toshinori had his mouth open as he recalled the words he told to the little girl about her dream. How she smiled to him. How he crushed her dream on that very spot. His fists tightened in anger, blood curling from his lips.

They were dead and he wasn't able to do anything.

It was silent for a moment as everyone mourned for the loss. Failure began to enter their emotions. Grief settled in.

Then the mass of slime bubbled in its wake. Confusing the onlookers and Pros near it, thinking that the slime was about attack again. Until, the mass exploded around the center where the two young students were and torrents of crackling red lightning surged up the sky. Leaving a thunderous after effect. It had splattered and scattered the slime villain across the whole place.

The red energy decreased rapidly afterwards and as the smoke cleared, it revealed Izumi kneeling on her feet, somewhat out of breath and her hair as bright red as it can be. Her eyes lost the redness in her vision and she was breathing heavily. Like her stamina had ran out. She looked at Katsuki who had widened his eyes on her. She smiled with as much as energy as she could muster at him.

_So that's her quirk… _he thought before losing consciousness.

She rushed in to tend to him but before she could, some of the slime-villain's remains reformed behind her. She rushed to Katsuki's prone form and held him in her arms. She tried to do the same thing she did to the villain earlier, only to realize that her energy crackled weakly as a result.

"Y-You almost got me there little bitch… N-now… I'm going to kill you with your little boyfriend in your arms!" the villain said to them. He wasn't able to reform as large as he did moments ago, but he was still big enough to kill them both. She tried to inch them away but her body was so tired she was only able to drag them for less than a centimeter.

"Die." The villain said.

"TEXAS SMASH!" a large wave of force instantly attacked the villain. Blowing him away to multiple pieces as a result. The ensuing blast was so powerful that it Mt. Lady shielded the civilians that were about to feel it. A tornado suddenly appeared after as Izumi watched on in awe.

The powerful gust of wind seemingly changed the weather patterns above them. Rain followed as a result, and silence fell as Izumi's widened eyes saw her Hero right in front of her. A large smile on his face, as he stood proud in the middle of it all. He raised his fist into the air and everyone smiled.

Cheers followed and she went with it. Tears in her eyes emerged when he smiled at her even with the clear trickle of blood on the corner of his lips. Toshinori was relieved and with the slime villain not reforming after, it was finished.

They had won.

* * *

A few minutes later…

Izumi had a smile on her face. She did it. She saved her classmate. She was able to correct her mistake that caused all of this, and at the end of the day she saw All Might with that same amazing smile towards her. Her day was complete. Add the fact that she had discovered she had a quirk made it even better. Even with the scolding she received (which was quite harsh) from the Pro Heroes, it didn't deter to her that she felt great. Even with that life or death situation, she felt great nonetheless.

Her classmate Katsuki was quickly carried away to the hospital. He went unconscious after everything that happened. She couldn't blame him, he did as best as he could to ward off the villain. She honestly felt relieved that he was alright and didn't have any damage whatsoever. However, a small interaction between them earlier after the incident occurred that made her so embarrassed. She recalled it so much down to the smallest detail that she was quite annoyed her stupid head did so.

It was at the very moment her Aunt had arrived. Catching her holding the limp boy in her arms. Said limp boy was nearly naked, save for a few patches of cloth that still remained. Covering the more vital parts, yet she turned red after seeing him nearly bare in front of her.

Her Aunt had rapidly turned from a worried state to a teasing state afterwards. She still did, and she was getting annoyed at it. Though, she knew that she was happy she was alright. If the way she hugged and kissed her a few seconds ago was any indication, then Izumi was happy with it.

Several onlookers did see her little stunt, and some recorded the event as it transpired. But the Pros on the scene rapidly made everyone to back away to not disturb her and her Aunt as they made their leave. The police had talked to Nemuri afterwards warning her that they would give Izumi a pass as she was only defending herself, but warning her regardless not to try and to do this again. Nemuri and Izumi quickly agreed to the terms and afterwards, Izumi had met her doctor that diagnosed her as 'quirkless' back then. She still had questions, but her aunt moved her away and stopped her from saying anything else. Promising to tell her something when they got home.

Now, they were walking home, away from the press and everything. Hand in hand. Her aunt, even with the way she was happy with her condition, had been silent with their walk. Izumi figured it was because of the tired feeling they both shared. Both wanting to go home after such a stressful day.

"Izumi?"

"Yes Aunt Nemu?"

"Are you sure your head doesn't hurt anymore?"

"Yeah… I'm certain? Why are you asking?"

Nemuri stopped and held both her hands. She stroked her hair. Her eyes full of wariness and concern. She then kissed the top of both her palms and looked at her.

"I was just so worried for you. I thought something bad had happened. I wouldn't forgive myself if it had gone that way. I love you my sweet. I'm just relieved you're okay." She said affectionately towards her, Izumi smiled and embraced her.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine… and best of all, I'm not quirkless. I can be a hero just like you Aunt Nemu. I-I can make my dream come true finally."

"T-that's great honey…" Nemuri said. Although she was happy with how she felt, a dark foreboding feeling grasped her heart. Some parts of the secret were out, and the worst part was some people had seen it firsthand. She began to worry on what was to happen next. She knew Izumi wouldn't give up her dream now that she had discovered her 'quirk'. Her and Inko were about to enter another set of problems with this. One that she knew would happen sometime in the future. She gulped but embraced her to stop her from noticing.

Izumi on the other hand felt that her Aunt was happy for her. She continued to hug her and even after they separated, she kept her smile.

"Let's go home… we still have a dinner to make." Nemuri said, trying to change the subject. Izumi giggled in response with a nod as they began to walk away.

"Hey kid! Wait up. I need to talk to you." They both heard a voice say when they looked back and saw Toshinori Yagi, also known as All Might who had disappeared on the scene after the aftermath. He still had the same clothes on, only dirtied and somehow worn this time but he had a small smile on his face as he waved to Izumi. Halfway there, Izumi separated from Nemuri and he ran towards him. Nemuri instantly recognized who the slim and blonde man was.

"All Might!" she said as she stopped in front of him. Toshinori put a hand on her head and smiled.

"How are you?"

"I'm great… thanks for saving me and Katsuki back there. I owe you a lot." The old man laughed lightly in response as he looked at her.

"I'm actually here to thank you for what happened. With how brave you were in facing that villain, I had enough strength to stop him once and for all. Thank you, a lot of people owe you in that. That boy most of all and me." Genuinely speaking for her, she was smiling with tears ebbing in her eyes.

"T-Thank you All Might." She said to him with All Might smiling back wiping one of her tears.

"You gotta stop crying kid. It doesn't fit with how much that smile of yours affects people. Even me, the one who's always supposed to smile pales to how bright yours is."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, and with that heroic heart of yours… I no doubt believe that you'll surpass even me someday." Izumi was about tear up again after hearing this, and her mind then slowly began to realize that he was about to say it…

"All Might… are you-"

The man put a hand on her shoulder.

"I told you earlier that your dream wasn't realistic, nor was I achievable. I was wrong to say it and I'm sorry that I did. I saw how far you were willing to risk your life to save others, quirkless or not kid I saw the true measure of a hero in your eyes and best of all… your heart."

Izumi watched on as the man smiled at him.

"It was your passion and drive to save Katsuki that won you in the end. It wasn't your quirk nor me who saved the day. It was _you_ and I can't thank you enough for showing me that. Real heroes are ones who risk everything they have to do the right thing no matter what happens, and that same thing is what made you worthy of that title…"

The man then kneeled slightly at her, taking both her hands and squeezed them.

"Young lady… you can be a hero" he proclaimed and there it was. Izumi felt like this was a dream, her number one hero believed in her. Someone finally acknowledged that she can and it was him.

Words could not express how happy she was in that moment. A treasure that both him and her would cherish for years to come. Nemuri stood by, a smile on her face with worry at the back of her head.

"Now dry your eyes… show me that smile again."

She did just that and giggled softly.

"You're gonna be a great hero someday. I know it. Because if you could change a stubborn old fart like me to think differently, then those who told you no are fools." He said to her earning a laugh from both of them.

Nemuri then walked closer to them and Toshinori instantly recognized the lady. She crossed her arms and grinned at them with her signature way.

"Oh crap… Aunt Nemuri t-this is the guy who helped me when-" her aunt waved her off with a small giggle.

"Not to worry sweetie, I already know that this is All Might here." She said, surprising the girl.

"So… you're the damn bastard that cut off the call huh?" Nemuri said to him. Toshinori stood up and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry… to be honest Midnight I never knew you were this kid's Aunt, didn't peg you for a maternal or familial figure." He said to her, earning a frown from her.

"Hey… I highly regard myself as a GREAT role model to her All Might. Don't you dare say anything more about it you hear?" she threatened lightly.

"Anyway, as surprised as I am to know you're her Aunt, can I ask you for me and your niece to talk in private? This is important. If you'll allow me of course."

Midnight then looked at Izumi who was trying to convince her with her puppy-dog eyes. She sighed afterwards and felt her phone vibrate.

"Fine… just don't take long." Nemuri said to Izumi who smiled brightly at her.

"Thanks… this won't take a minute." He said as he gestured to the girl to follow her. Seeing the two move away from her to talk privately, she then saw on her phone that the person who was trying to call her was none other than Inko. Who seemingly had tried to call her for more than three times already. She braced herself for the upcoming storm.

_Shit._

Meanwhile, Izumi was waiting for what All Might was going to say to her. He then took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye. More serious this time.

"All Might? What's this about?"

"I have offer for you Young Lady, and I've been thinking well enough about this ever since we defeated that villain, and to me the choice was clear."

_Offer? What offer?_

* * *

Holding the vial in hand kept the mystery person's interest at the forefront. It had been quite an interesting day. The success of the formula was questionable at best, but the outcome made it all the more interesting. Seeing that little girl and what her quirk was gave such an exciting prospect. A news that would soon spread amongst those hiding in the dark.

The person then for some reason began to melt over, as if the body was nothing but a disguise, revealing a young girl with ashen blonde hair and a sadistic smile on her face. She laughed to herself as she skipped happily into the night.

Excited for the future…

END OF CHAPTER 2

**I had difficulty with this chapter... but I'm happy with how it turned out. Anyway, thank you again for those who followed this story. It isn't the best I know, but I'm trying to make it as best as I can. Leave a follow or two and a review as well. Thanks again guys, and see you next time... if you have questions, PM me or send a review.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Shadows of the Dawn**

**\- Jade goes deeper down the rabbit hole and finds more questions than answers. Alongside this, Izumi is given an offer of a lifetime. **


	4. III Shadows of the Dawn Part 1

**Hi guys! Back with a new chapter. Sorry if this took a bit longer than expected, I was busy with some things in life and I was plotting with some notes to give me a good guide on where to take this story going forward. I will still follow canon but I wanted to put some story arcs in between to serve the story where I want it to go. Suffice to say I had a great time planning some of things I'm excited to share in the future. So keep tabs on that.**

**Also, a few clarifications first with this story:**

**1\. Pairings will be left in the dark. While I am a sucker for a good romance, I don't think romance is a thing that needs to be in every story. Sure, there will be some pairings in the future of this fic, but for now unless I think otherwise there will be no focus on building any romantic connection between anybody. Should I think that it serves the story then fine I'll make it happen. **

**2\. Izumi's quirk is not at all a telepathy-based ability. It's something different and odd that I am excited to talk more about when I slowly reveal the real nature of it.**

**3\. Lastly, we're going to have one original arc first before we get Izumi to U.A.'s Entrance Exam and beyond... **

**That's all for now so I hope you enjoy this new chapter and see ya in the next update!**

**Warning: For slightly intense depictions of violence and some graphic material **

* * *

III. Shadows of the Dawn Part 1

_ "Young lady, I offer you 'One For All'." He said to her after the numerous questions thrown at him by the girl, as well as the long explanation involving his quirk and the reality of it._

_ She stood there in awe and contemplation. Not knowing what to say nor if she was worthy of all of this. Nemuri walked over and held both her shoulders. A concerned yet understanding look on her face. Izumi then turned to Toshinori yet again._

_ "All Might… what if I don't live up to your belief in me?"_

_ "Like I said earlier kid, even with those thoughts in hand, I can't deny what I saw in you. You'll be more than worthy to take that mantel and best of all I believe in you."_

_ Izumi smiled at him, tears about to form in her eyes. She then suddenly bowed in front of him._

_ "I-I don't know if I really am worthy of this honor All Might, but I'll assure you I'll do all I can to achieve that trust and belief you have in me. I'll try and make myself worthy of such an honor, this I promise you…" saying those words with as much determination she could muster made Toshinori realize that he did pick the right choice._

_ He had no doubts anymore that she would let her down._

_ "T-Thank you All Might." She said as she ran into him and gave him a warm embrace._

_ "Call me Toshinori kid…"_

_ "Then call me as Izumi then…" she teased back. Both of them stifled a giggle at the same time._

_ "Fair enough." He said to her as she continued to embrace him._

3:32 Hours, Present…

Toshinori sat up from his sleep, recalling the events of yesterday's encounter with the girl had him in a fairly decent mood. Stretching from his slumber, he removed the blanket covering him and placed both his feet from the bed and into the floor. Turning his head to his bedside table, he saw that it was still pretty early for him to get up. The usual four A.M. waking time was still a few minutes away. Feeling that sleep was not going to come back to him, he stood up from his bed and walked to the nearest window. Sliding the curtains away and seeing that outside, it was still dark. The moon at its highest still.

He cracked his knuckles and began to walk out of his room and towards his kitchen. He was honestly surprised that he had a dream in the first place. Being that so much was pressed on him with the responsibility that he had, he rarely ever dreamed it all. Sleep was a slightly foreign concept to him too, barely being able to sleep unless he really had free time for himself.

Yesterday was different it seemed. The way that little girl impressed him was such a bizarre and admittedly amazing thing for him to witness. It reminded him of his earlier days, when he was still trying to make a name for himself. He had no doubt that the kid someday would do the same as he was, maybe even better in some aspects.

That dream he had was only half of the conversation they both partook in. He smiled when he first explained to her prior to that on what his quirk was. He had to do a bit of dramatization to keep her no her toes. It wasn't needed anyway, the girl was quite smart and pieced the pieces together than he could explain. The mumbling though was a bit annoying, but it added much to her charm.

However, saying everything about the truth of his quirk to her made her rethink and doubt herself. As much as the girl was brave and unrelenting in the pursuit of her dream, she was also very cautious, scared, and paranoid at the same time. He understood how she felt of course, his own mentor back in the day herself made him ask whether he was worthy of this responsibility too.

Look where he is now.

He had no doubts that the girl would fulfill that promise and be worthy of 'One for All'. His decision was final on it, and with a little convincing on his part, the girl accepted his offer. Not for the sheer power that he held in his hands that she would inherit, but by the prospect that she was willing to take on this responsibility and make him proud.

If that wasn't an incentive enough for him to see that she was worthy, then he wouldn't know what is. He would rest easily knowing that the gut instinct he had was right at that moment.

That the little girl was his successor.

Finally reaching to his kitchen, he took out his toaster from one of the cupboards. Hooking it up to a power outlet while he went to the fridge to grab some food. Taking a butter knife, he took two pieces of bread and lightly spread both pieces with butter. He then placed them into the toaster to let them cook, while doing so he reached out a mug for himself and grabbed the dispenser that held all his tea.

His toaster rang as he took a small plate and took both pieces, placing it neatly on the small plate. After preparing his tea with some hot water from his thermos, he sat on the pantry he shared alone in his living space. It was quiet still like usual, the only light turned on was the room he was in.

Blowing away some of the heat on his mug, he began to deeply think what he wanted to do for today with the kid. They both agreed to meet at a certain beach after her classes. He sent her the address and they would talk about his offer in further detail after then. The girl while having an impressive quirk, was more or less skinny and had a very small form that if he gave her 'One for All' at this stage, a very gruesome outcome with occur. He didn't want that happen to her most of all, and that the girl's aunt was very protective of her. So much so that Midnight, as her hero name was called, threatened him with a severe case of _'torture'_. The way she said that very word made him uncomfortable.

Going back to topic, he did manage to talk to her guardian, which was Midnight herself. The woman in question about this choice of his ended rather peculiarly. After recently, he was given an offer to teach at his alma mater with the main reason being that he would find his successor there. Midnight, or Nemuri Kayama was part of the current school faculty and she knew the truth about 'One for All' as with all the other teachers that taught in that school. He was really surprised to know that she was the girl's guardian, not particularly picturing her as parental figure of sorts (which she begrudgingly tried to convince him otherwise, albeit to her own annoyance).

However, they did manage to talk briefly about this topic, and Midnight herself seemed both happy for Izumi but at the same time had a very distant and concerned look for her. Like something dangerous was to happen when she goes down this road. He didn't ask her about it, the only thing that she did want to tell her was…

_"All Might, I'm still not agreeing wholeheartedly with this…"_

_ "I understand but you have to see that I'm only doing this with the best of intentions in mind. I don't want to force her into it and it has to be at her own volition."_

_ Nemuri looked at the girl who was trying to see how much damage was on her bag that she threw at the villain earlier. She was trying to see if her notebooks were alright and if her glasses were still there. She was far too occupied to even hear what the two adults were talking about. With her arms crossed, she tightened her hold on them and looked at All Might, as fi the fate of the world was on him now._

_ "Look, if she is your choice I want you to promise me you'll take care of her."_

_ "I will, that's only natural. If she is to be my successor at all, I want her to be okay."_

_ Nemuri casted a look of seriousness in her face, the likes Toshinori hadn't seen before. _

_ "I want you to be serious about it All Might. Izumi… s-she's-" she sighs after Izumi begins to write on her notebooks again and was seemingly trying to upstart her quirk. The green dye on her head was gone, and her crimson locks were waving into the air. She put her arms down and clenched her fists._

_ "She's special…"_

_ Toshinori wanted to reply to her, but saw her face that was like something bad had happened already. He nodded at her._

_ "Just… make sure she'll be okay at the end. Can you promise me that?"_

_ "Of course..."_

_ "Good… I'll talk to her about it." She said with one more nod before walking away, calling Izumi too her side. Izumi waved at him with a bow and left with her aunt._

Toshinori remembered it well. He wondered why Midnight was thinking that way. Like he was given another large responsibility to hold. Acknowledging that she should talk to the girl and her guardian again, he sipped his tea. Only for him to spit it out, the beverage too hot for his lips and tongue.

Cursing with what happened, he placed the beverage back to the table and drank his glass of water. Powerful as he may be in his buffed form, he was as human and quirkless as can be in his normal state. He sank back in his seat. Letting his thoughts wander.

The girl's quirk came to the forefront in his thoughts.

It was odd. It acted like an electricity type of quirk, or an energy-based quirk that could conduct large amounts of excess energy that she could shoot out. However, a small detail bugged him. The energy came out of her head and her eyes glowed a stark and bright crimson red. Normally, he would think it was normal as there are variations in how people use their quirks. Hers however, had one odd addition. The slime villain's tendrils exploded on contact with that red energy and when those slime particles dispersed into the area around the burst, they were no longer corrosive nor active. It's as if she somehow canceled or interfered the villain's quirk when her red energy hit him. That discharge that she let out too managed to intrigue the old hero. A sheen of discomfort coming from the discord somehow affected the line of thought everyone in the area had. It was less than a second, but he did feel as if something had tugged his brain.

A list of questions were adding up. He needed to discuss this with the girl later. He needed to know in order to speculate what effect One For All would have on her existing quirk. As he himself was quirkless unlike his predecessor, his master who had the quirk of flight.

Training her would not be easy he reckoned. Too many variables to consider. For now, he would look into her capabilities first and decided what to do then.

Then suddenly his phone had an incoming call.

"A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS-"

Picking it up he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Hello?"

"Good Morning Mr. Yagi… I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"Oh no that's not needed, I was already up to begin with. You didn't disturb me if that's what you're wondering." Trying to stop the caller to worry.

"Thank you sir. Pardon me for asking but why are you up so early today. Earlier than the usual time you get up no less."

"I just woke up from my sleep Miss Kaguya. You know how I don't really go back to sleep once I'm already up." While holding the phone he went took a small bite with his toast.

"Right, forgive me for forgetting sir, that aside something important just came up for you."

"What is it?"

"The appointment with the Prime Minister regarding the Aldera Memorial day event is being moved to an earlier timeframe. The new schedule is being posted on 9 AM, today. They need you for something, I was told it was about a certain group of classified topics as well as talks for the upcoming event next week."

Toshinori bit his lip and thought about it. He had forgotten that the holiday was next week.

"Alright, I'll come by the office by 8 and we'll handle it."

"Shall I bring you breakfast once you arrive sir?"

"That won't be needed Miss Kaguya, I've already eaten. I'll call you again if I need anything."

"As you say sir." After saying this, the caller on the other line had cut the call. After having that talk with his former sidekick about secretaries, he never thought he would hire one. Prior from that, he thought it was unnecessary but now that he had Miss Kaguya, he actually opened up to the idea and kept her ever since. Losing some of his workload in the process.

Standing up, he began to walk to his room to grab a towel and take a bath. While walking up there he felt his mind wander into another topic. One about the Aldera tragedy. One the largest failures of his career. Almost half of the city dying in one single night kept him awake back then for weeks on end. Contemplating still on how it all went wrong.

Then he remembered what he saw in the aftermath. How shaken he was and how it broke him seeing all those deaths. At the middle of it all though, as far as he can remember was one of his old enemies. Jade.

For as long as he could recall about her, she was never the type to be genocidal. She was more in line as an assassin for hire who carried out kills for money in the night. He had some very notable run ins with her earlier in the day, most of the time he tried to convince her to turn herself in. Only to escape his clutches again and again.

That night however seeing her in the middle of all the death that surrounded her, she was different. She was at her most vulnerable and something drastic had changed in her.

She was scared. The moment he saw those eyes, they were laced with fear and uncertainty. Along with that was the baby in her arms. He saw how much she clutched her into her arms, how protective an scared she looked while doing it. She also implied to him that this was the baby's doing. Further making him confused before she vanished.

The baby had red strands of hair and immediately his thoughts came upon Izumi.

"Hmm…" he grumbled to himself as he took his towel.

It was impossible, even if it was Izumi she wasn't capable of something like that.

* * *

7:13 hours…

A black and sleek looking car just pulled up near the gates of Aldera Junior High. Teachers, students and other people were walking in as classes would start by 8 AM. The car in question had its window opened slightly, revealing a smiling Izumi ready for another day at school. He hair had patches of green dye at the ends of her hair. She had completely dyed her hair with green last night when she took a bath, but after testing her quirk again and again until midnight, most of the green had faded into highlights in her hair. Her eyes had glasses yet again, not as a necessity but because to her it completed the look and finally, she had her bag in her lap ready to leave the car as soon as possible. Her school uniform matching surprisingly with the overall finished look.

"How do I look?" Izumi said to her aunt, who was at the driver's seat looking at her.

"You look very cute sweetie." She said to her with a simple smirk. Her voice almost teasing.

"Cute? I was hoping for stylish or something. Not cute of all things!" she teased back. Her energy so high that the morning routine she and Nemuri shared earlier was nothing but eventful. Even now she that enthusiasm still bubbled in her. Like nothing could deter her from enjoying herself today.

"But you are darling and I have to say, that look does suit you better."

"That's what I wanted to hear! Thanks for the compliment and uh, thanks for buying me new glasses Aunt Nemu. I'm still sorry I lost my old one."

Midnight chuckled at her.

"I told you like always it's okay. If it's for you then I'm fine with whatever it is. I'm just happy that you were alright yesterday. You worried me so much that I thought something bad had happened."

"Sorry about that again. I didn't mean to run into that villain and scare you. He just got Katsuki, and I just felt I had to do something about it."

Nemuri admired Izumi's heart yet again. As much as it worried and scared her that she went into that fight, she couldn't deny the girl's resolve with She ruffled her hair in response, much to her dismay who argued she had fixed it already. She simply laughed it off.

"You're really something sweetie. I'm proud of you… just don't get me worried again like that."

"S-Sure!" she said with a cheerful grin.

"Also, why do you want to wear glasses again? You told me you can see better now, why bother wearing them still?" Nemuri asked.

Izumi played with her fingers again. She was blushing red at her.

"Well… these glasses are inspired from you Aunt Nemuri. It reminds me of your look and I-I sort of wanted it t-to be part of who I am. For everyone to know that I'm proud of you most of all."

Nemuri stopped thinking for a second after she said that. She smiled warmly after, her heart bounced in joy like nothing else in this world. She always wondered how it felt being a mother when she was younger back in the day, and having her now she was happy to note that it was worth it. Her decision to take Izumi into her life was one of the best thing she had ever agreed to.

She moved closer to her and embraced her with as much love as she could give out. Izumi did the same and Nemuri kissed the top of her head.

"I love you Izumi…"

"Love you Aunt Nemu…"

Separating, Nemuri looked at her 'niece' with a proud look on her.

"Well I should be going now… wouldn't want to be late." Izumi said as she opened the door on her side. Stepping out Nemuri leaned over as she closed the door for her to see. Izumi rested her elbows on the window while wearing her bag.

"Oh and one more thing Izumi…"

"What is it?"

"Don't overuse your quirk alright?" she said to her. She nodded and waved her goodbye before Nemuri happily drove away. Leaving the girl in front of the school.

As Nemuri drove off she couldn't help but smile at what happened, but it faded instantly into frown when she recalled what she and Inko had talked about. It didn't end well of course and both her and the doctor who came to check on her yesterday were quite alarmed at how her 'quirk' had manifested. She only hoped today that nothing bad would happen as it worried her and Inko to such a degree that she barely had sleep last night.

She shrugged the thought away, knowing that Izumi wouldn't go overboard. She still wasn't keen on telling her the truth about her newfound power. Especially since she was involved in-

No… she wouldn't think that way. Until Inko comes home she needed to be there for her. Whatever it was that would happen. She would keep Izumi safe.

Back at Izumi who watched Nemuri's car vanish from her view, she quickly turned herself towards the entrance of the school. Taking a deep breath and patted both sides of her head to motivate herself. For today she had lots of things to look forward to. On top of it all was that meeting she and All Might would have later. She was so excited that she barely got up from bed after staying late trying to understand her 'quirk'. She still hadn't understood her powers fully, but she did know a few things about it.

One was that she was able to produce enough energy to short circuit objects around her vicinity. Two, she did observe that she had sort of a vision mode when she activated her quirk. The part where her eyes glowed red. While being under the effects of this mode, she was able to seemingly see people in different colors. She didn't understand what such colors meant, but she vowed to investigate it if given the time to.

For now, she had to attend school. The slime villain incident apparently was trending last night but she didn't use her phone nor used the internet to be aware of it. She was far too busy trying to understand her quirk than pay attention at what the news had seemingly told everyone.

She looked around where she stood and immediately she heard people talking about the incident. A few gasps were heard as well, along with a few eyes batted at her by some students who were passing by. Not caring for such a thing she continued walking towards the gate and entered the premises of the school. Immediately she noticed eyes were following her direction. People whispering and some teachers looking at her with a very unusual high regard than normal.

She continued walking, not noticing the amount of people who were starting to flock around her. Opening her phone, she tried to see what the fuss was all about. Instantly, seeing it first-hand on her screen was her plastered on ever trending page possible in almost every site she visited. The main headlines ranged from comments about her bravery and act in saving Katsuki, as well as the numerous videos and pictures that captured her releasing that large spike of red energy into the air.

It dawned in her at that moment that she was the most talked about person in Japan for the last few hours ever since that event yesterday. She gulped when she realized what she was about to experience in the next few moments…

_T-That's a lot of people… and they're noticing me. _Instead of flattery, a simple case of panic was in her mind right now.

She stopped walking and with a shy face in mind, she turned seeing numerous students gawking at her. She instantly turned red when one girl who had blue hair rushed to her side and began shaking her arm up and down with such excitement. All of them in fact, seemed to be so happy in her presence.

"WOW! You're really her and we're Schoolmates! You were so brave! Even I couldn't do such a thing and-" the girl continued to talk with such speeds that the amount of people behind her did the same and showered multiple amounts of praise at her. The pressure had started to build up in her as her face heated up in embarrassment and confusion at the attention she was getting.

"T-Thank you?" her response was in such a weak voice that it was drowned amidst the number of people coming close to her. A bit too close in fact for her comfort. Her personal space which was something she valued very well was invaded haphazardly by numerous people.

Not that there wasn't anything wrong with that. Unfortunately, being an introvert who doesn't really socialize with so many people made her senses falter harshly. She was starting to blushingly drown away in the middle of the flock.

"Dang you're actually cute! What's her name again?" one boy said who looked at her.

"Midoriya! C-Can you give me an autograph?" another shouted.

"Hey… isn't she our classmate?"

"The new girl?"

"Your quirk was amazing?"

"What does it feel to see All Might in person?"

Izumi wanted to at least enjoy this feeling of being noticed but the initial shock to her system still lingered. This amount of affection, flattery and notice was now steadily eating away her patience and she was not comfortable at it at all. Unbeknownst to her, a faint red sheen of color started to appear in the surroundings of her vision. Small sparks started to manifest, her quirk reacting the same with her current emotion. She wanted to leave the spot she was in, but she didn't want to upset the people who only wanted to see her.

At that moment she wondered what All Might could have felt when he was going through this. She reckoned she would ask later.

Because unlike other people who wanted fame and fortune when it comes to hero work, Izumi never really wanted it. She despised it. She wanted to be a hero that really cares and helps people. Famous or not, that was her dream.

Her eyes started to glow weakly in red as the amount of people continued to gawk at her.

Until…

"What's with this noise?" a loud voice was heard. Everyone turned to the direction of the speaker, Izumi who was still grappled by so many other students was steadily released from their grasps. She managed to recover from the daze and saw his homeroom teacher who barely cared for her stepped in to save her.

"I understand Miss Midoriya is quite the topic after yesterday's events. But it is still far too early to spark this kind of commotion. Miss Midoriya herself seems to be far too overwhelmed with the praise you people have been giving her. Now scram… I either want you to go to your classes or expect a failing grade from my part. Even if we have no classes together, I'll still talk to your homeroom teacher should you fail to be obedient." The sound of his voice suddenly was so intense that all those who were surrounding her immediately did as they were told. Those who were in her class however simply stared in confusion. Even Izumi was surprised, their usually timid, open, and carefree teacher suddenly did a complete 180 in attitude. It felt like it wasn't him at all.

Like someone different was in his place. Izumi's 'sensory vision' that came with the glow of her eyes buzzed a bit after everyone had left her and when she saw her homeroom teacher, he was glowing in a dark shade of purple. Not minding this detail, she turned off quirk and walked up to him to say her thanks. The teacher simply smiled and waved at her.

"Are you alright?"

"T-Thanks sir… I was in a big pickle there."

"No need young lady, now off to your class. We're starting a bit earlier today." The teacher said with a wink to her. He then started walking away as if the guy was excited (he seemed far too happy in her presence) but she turned from him and proceeded to walk to her classroom.

_That was strange…_

Reaching her classroom in time, she stepped by the doorway and saw that some of her classmates were already in the room. Some were friendship circles that were either boys who were talking about something related to video games and girls randomly chatting away with each other. Thankfully those who noticed her only beamed in her presence and smiled. Some greeted her but in the end, she was thankful they weren't as crazy as those who threw themselves at her earlier.

She sighed in relief and sat on her seat. Taking out some of her notebooks to either sketch and write about her quirk. She opened Quirk Analysis #1 and began to flip through the notes she had taken with her experiments in regards to her quirk. She took a pencil in from her bag and started to write some added info and theories about her abilities.

Her emotions it seemed was a trigger for her quirk to manifest without her consent. She wrote I down and began to list several things that related to various emotions for her to test later. When she finished adding more queries to the list, she shut the notebook and worked her way to a sketch pad she had also. Ever since knowing about her quirk she had done her best in trying to make a hero suit for herself. She had already drawn a few concepts that she liked but she wasn't satisfied with them yet.

The action in itself filled her with joy. Sketching was one of her hobbies, as her hero notebooks itself were filled with sketches of the various heroes she saw and wrote down. Making concepts of her suit too also made her nostalgic, recalling a pre-quirk era film about a certain red and blue hero who also drew down his own concept of a suit.

She enjoyed those films. Especially since her aunt had to secretly watch it with her while her mother was away. It was a small secret that they both shared.

Not really paying attention to her surroundings (being absorbed too much in her own work), she didn't notice that their homeroom teacher had arrived. Most of the students went back to her their respective seats as he sat on is desk in front of them. Izumi continued to mind her own business.

Clearing his throat to get her attention, their teacher spoke…

"Ms. Midoriya… can I have your attention please?"

Izumi quickly looked up and smiled sheepishly as she began to keep those notes he had on her desk. After waiting for her, she then started to notice that her teacher was wearing a different set of clothes than earlier she last saw him. He also looked at her differently again, with the same casual and timid look that she knew too well.

"Y-Yes sir? Do you need me for something?"

"Not really… but it seems like you're being called to the principal's office. Don't ask me what it is because I didn't really ask." He said with an almost bored tone.

_Principal's office?_

All eyes turned on her to hear her response.

"Uh sir, should I be concerned?" she asked.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about. With that little stunt you did yesterday, I don't think the school is hard pressed in kicking you out. Especially since All Might was there on the scene."

She instantly regretted asking, her teacher ever since she met him had always looked at her with a very unimpressed demeanor. This didn't change at all with her supposed 'fame'. She frowned and nodded as she stood up and began to leave the room.

As she stood by the doorway, he heard her teacher say one more thing under his breath.

_"Unless I'm wrong that is." _A ring of distaste filled Izumi as she walked away, causing her quirk to flare up with minor sparks popping around her head. It was odd to be saved by the same person earlier and to be insulted at the same time. She was confused with the weird and irrational behavior he had, but she threw those thoughts away and tried to calm herself, her vision re-adjusting to normal again, the sparks in her head disappearing from view.

_Asshole._

She steadily walked in the hallways, seeing some other students who recognized her. She shyly waved at them back, thankful that they didn't rush her or anything. Some of the teachers that she passed by still had dismissive looks on their faces but they were tolerable enough to greet her. She didn't mind them at least.

Stopping just outside of the door towards the principal's office, she knocked respectfully. Readying herself for whatever was to happen (which she surprisingly didn't feel any fear at all), she took a deep breath until someone called her from the inside to enter.

Opening the door, she saw the presence of the School's secretary. The middle-aged woman smiled at her presence with a greeting as she inquired about her case. She left after letting her sit to wait as she entered the principal's office.

Tapping her feet towards the floor, her mind began to think about the dark purple color she saw that manifested in her vision when she saw her teacher. It bugged her when she thought about it. Adjusting her glasses to ready herself just in time for the secretary to let her in on the principal's office.

"S-Sir? You called for me?" she meekly said while entering, only to be drowned out by a very happy and impressed blonde woman who was sitting next to her explosive classmate. Katsuki himself.

"So there's the girl I wanted to talk to so badly! Wow you look cuter in person!" the woman said.

"She isn't even cute…" Katsuki whispered only to be slapped in the head by the woman.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" he shouted angrily.

"Have some respect you little ungrateful shit! She saved you from that guy remember?"

"I didn't need saving… much less from her that is." Katsuki whispered to himself.

"What was that?" the woman snapped.

"Nothing just get on with it mom!"

Izumi and the principal simply watched with confused and looks of surprise on their faces. Izumi especially who had a sheepish grin on her face.

_That's his mom?_

"Hey Deku! The hell are you looking at?" Katsuki said at her direction only to be squeezed by his mother on both sides of his cheeks.

"What did I tell you about being rude Katsuki? Especially with her?" her mother said and a new argument seemed to spark between them much to the dismay of both the principal and her.

"Ms. Midoriya, as you can see I called you here as Mrs. Bakugou here wanted to see you in regards with what happened yesterday." The principal said after sneaking in between the two's argument. They still continued while Izumi sheepishly laughed while scratching the back of head in the process.

"I-Is that so sir?"

"I'm afraid so young lady." He said while Katsuki glared at his mother who had a hand on top of his head. The woman instantly removed her angry demeanor and smiled genuinely(?) at her. A thankful look on her face manifested.

"Pardon my son and me young lady." She said to her.

"Oh… it's no problem at all Mrs. Bakugou. In your own way I think you both mean well."

The woman laughed lightly while ruffling the hair of her son who was scowling at her.

"See Katsuki? Be respectful like her, it'll help you I'm sure of it." The woman said to her son who gritted his teeth in response.

"Anyway young lady, call me Mitsuki, Mrs. Bakugou makes me feel old."

"You are ol-OW! You hag! That hurts you know!" he protested after being hit again by her mother in the head. Izumi simply grinned at them.

"R-Right… c-call me Izumi then ma'am."

Mitsuki Bakugou then let her son go with her other hand. She then looked at the boy as he frowned. Trying to fix his uniform, his hair, and patted him on the back before turning to her. A solemn look this time on her face.

"I wanted to thank you personally… it's not common for my little boy here to be in such situations. To be honest, we were really scared of what could have happened to him yesterday. You see, Katsuki may be very rash, naughty, stupid… or even downright mean to people but deep down he's very passionate about being a hero and I love him so much for it. It means a lot to me and even him, that you saved him yesterday."

Izumi smiled back. Feeling slightly jealous that her own mom didn't even seem to think that way about her. But at this moment she smiled for the both of them, happy that Katsuki had a loving mother.

"You're welcome ma'am." She said with a respectful bow.

"I hope you and my son get to be friends, since he can learn a lot from you young lady." Katsuki continued to glare at his mother, invoking the woman to glare back in response.

"Like a lot..." she continued under her breath.

"I don't know about that, but it's his decision if he wants that to be." She sheepishly said, earning a glare from the boy. Mitsuki giggled and waved her off.

"Nah, this little chump right here will certainly like you. He actually called your name the moment he woke up in the hospital bed."

"I DIDN'T SAY HER NAME!" Katsuki suddenly shouted back to her, only for Mitsuki to ignore him. Izumi raised a brow at that revelation, an uncertain and estranged feeling laced into that.

_Really? Is this guy for real? _

"Anyway, thanks again young lady. Me and my husband are in your debt for saving our boy. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask, I'm sure Katsuki will like talking to you anyway."

"I TOLD YOU IT'S NOT FUCKING LIKE THAT!" before the principal could scold him for his swearing, Mitsuki simply pinched his lips shut and grinned happily at Izumi, the scene in itself was bizarrely etched in her brain. When she had let go of her son, Katsuki relentlessly glared at his mother yet again. Only for it fall in deaf ears once more. The woman then bowed slightly at Izumi before leaving.

"It was nice meeting you. Katsuki, I need to be sure that you treat her well okay?"

"I told you-"

**SMACK!**

"And I told you to shut it. Bye again sweetheart!" the woman said before leaving the office. Those who remained, the principal along with the two students were especially Izumi was trying to hold back her laugh before Katsuki focused his glare on her.

"The hell are you looking at?"

Izumi looked away as if nothing happened, grinning to herself.

"Oh nothing…"

He then pointed a threatening finger at her, she however after witnessing all of that didn't seem to feel intimidated in his presence again.

"Listen well _Deku… _Don't you ever spread to whatever friends you have on what happened here. Unless you want to deal with me that is. I'll show you that I'm more of a threat than that slime fuck anyway!"

"Language Mr. Bakugou." The principal reminded.

"Cool your jets Mr. Explodeyhead, like I have any friends to begin with. Your secret is safe with me. Besides, I'm not one to rattle someone's juiciest secrets anyway. That's simply not me."

"Good. Let's fucking go back to our class then." he said while angrily standing up and going to the door to leave. Izumi looked at the principal and mouthed a 'sorry' to him. He simply waved them off with an understanding look as she caught up behind him.

"Although… I'm not sure I won't ever tease you at all with this subject. I've seen it first-hand after all." Izumi teased as she started to giggle to herself. The boy instantly turned.

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH YOU BITCH?" Izumi simply laughed as he continued to spill continuous lines of angry swears and sentences. She enjoyed it as they walked together.

Even with his rather brash and certainly colorful… choice of words. She enjoyed his presence.

Maybe she will be his friend. Maybe.

* * *

After leaving the office later that day, they proceeded to get along rather well. Well, as good as possibly can that is. The boy still refused her attempts at teasing him with what she saw between him and his mother and him on the other hand didn't stop trying to boast that without her he would have gotten out of that mess yesterday with the slime villain. All in all, it was quite an interesting talk back to the classroom. Katsuki forced her to walk behind him, while she argued that he wasn't supposed to be superior to anyone, only for him to laugh it off in a rude manner. She sighed as they continued walking. Not even caring if the boy was angrily saying to her to do as he said.

Mid way to their classroom. Katsuki then turned to his side to see her. She was quietly muttering to herself about her quirk. She was muttering so fast that he didn't comprehend nor understood what she was trying to say. It sure annoyed him, but he wanted to say something serious between them first.

"Deku…"

She didn't respond.

"DEKU."

Once again she continued as if she didn't hear anything.

"DEKU! I'm trying to talk to you, you damn bit-" she grinned at him with a confident look to overshadow his intimidation tactic.

"Name's not Deku… if you want to speak to me call me Izumi… Kacchan." The nickname instantly made Katsuki furious. The damn nerd had the audacity to give him a shitty name. Only he was able to do that to people. They were all extras after all compared to him.

"The fuck are you calling me that stupid name?"

"You call me a stupid name. It's only fair I do it too." She said to him with a small giggle.

"I do it because I'm the only one allowed to!"

"Don't care… you want to stop? Call me Izumi then and I'll stop calling you as… _Kacchan._" She said with more weight in her teasing, further making the boy angrier than ever. He then rushed to her and grabbed her by the collar. She stared down at him, not even letting his scowl frighten her.

"You want to go Mophead? I could take you! Your quirk may be useful but it isn't as strong as mine you hear me?"

"And why would I fight you? It's useless anyway it doesn't prove a thing. I would and still call you _Kacchan _and if you stop calling me Deku then I guess we're stuck with the both of us calling each other those names."

"You want me to give you an incentive to stop calling me that?" he threatened, almost genuine this time. Izumi's vision started to flare a bit into red, just in case. However, she still had one ace in the hole. She simple grinned and looked away.

"You want me to tell your sweet momma that you hurt me?"

He inched away, losing some of his grip strength.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I would and you know it." She said as they both stared down at each other. After a minute into the confrontation, he angrily let her go as she crossed her arms in a smug manner.

"Fuck you… I fucking hate you Deku."

"Likewise… _Kacchan_." She emphasized before he angrily continued to walk. She shook her head and followed him again, until she heard a faint sound of something that dripped on the floor. Trying to find the source she saw a red liquid splat just between her feet. Then she felt her nose wet and as she tried to wipe it, she saw her hands laced with something red.

It was blood.

Another droplet fell to floor. Her eyes widened as she took her handkerchief and tried to cover her nose. Katsuki then stopped and looked back at her. Wondering why she had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She was wiping something on her face between her nose.

"What's got you so worried?" he asked in a deadpan tone.

"N-Nothing… just go on without me. I think I need to visit the restroom first."

Katsuki shrugged and started walking off. Before he did he stopped again and turned his head to her. Almost reluctantly he wanted to say something to her.

"Look here Deku… my old hag is right on one small case. So a small thank you is on order for yesterday. But don't try and expect that I have a debt that I owe you."

Izumi simply stared as he walked away without saying anything else.

In some way his words were… quite true to a degree. He didn't seem like the lying type anyway so he figured that it was as close to a compliment she could get from him. In some way, maybe that was an acknowledgement that they could be acquaintances at least.

She still didn't like him at all. She did in fact found him entertaining but nothing else besides that.

Her thoughts were halted suddenly when the handkerchief she was holding became soaked wet with her blood. Continuous droplets rained from the fabric and into the floor, her nosebleed worsening as she panicked. She quickly held the fabric to seal off her nose while racing to the women's restroom.

Opening the door quickly, she went to the sinks and looked at the mirror. Seeing herself with her nose still streaming with blood. She opened the faucet and quickly leaned in to soak his bleeding nose. After washing away, the redness in her lips and hands she quickly tried to get some tissues and tried to plug her nose. The sink was now partially red in hue due to the blood. She tried to wash it away to avoid suspicion and panic from the school staff.

While cleaning it, she soaked her now blood-covered white handkerchief.

The water ran over the piece of cloth. Then she saw the tissues soaked in her blood and it was dripping yet again. She took the tissues and threw it to the trash next to the sink. Blood continued to flow from her nose. If she was concerned and worried a minute ago, she was at the brink of freaking out now. Blood continued to trickle as slowly her vision was darkening a bit, blurring as she distinctly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen that stretched to her stomach.

Izumi looked at herself on the mirror. Some blood had been splattered on the glass and she saw the top of her head glowing slightly in an intense color of red. A stream of blood still dripped from her nose. The feeling of ache in her body worsening as she tried to stand up properly. Both arms clinging on the sink as the faucet continued to flush out water. The blood mixing with it as she continued to look on the glass at her reflection.

Her min started to scatter in thoughts. She couldn't focus, merely staring at the paling look on her face. Subconsciously panicking as to what was happening. This didn't happen last night and now it made her fearful for herself with the amounts of blood she was dispelling.

_W-What's happening to me?_

The aching in her body sprang up violently and she began to cough. She covered her mouth with her fist, only to see some droplets of blood on it. The taste of her tongue started to fill with the bitterness of blood. Her nose still dripping droplets on the floor.

Coughing again violently this time, her stomach churned. She then felt like something was going to be ejected from her stomach and she hurriedly tried to stand up and run to the nearest cubicle.

Doing so, her shoes slipped on one of the droplets and she forcibly fell to the floor. She coughed blood again as her body crashed, moaning in annoyance to the pain and the ache of her abdomen after it hit the cold floor. She used some of her weakening strength and forced herself to stand up and get to the toilet. Not even hesitating to lock the door of the cubicle, she knelt in front of the toilet, not minding how dirty it was nor how it smelled but she clung both of her hands on both edges of it and coughed as more blood seeped from her lips.

Discomfort and pain filled her as she continued to violently cough. Then suddenly her stomach churned differently this time and what came next horrified her.

**HUUAAARRGHHH!**

She began vomiting large amounts of blood, bile and the remains of her breakfast. The first vomit ejected so much that she felt her body weaken almost instantly. An aftertaste of something that burned her throat remained. A mixture of noodles and katsudon (her favorite dish) hung from the side of her mouth along with the taste of blood mixed with the vile concoction. If she was thinking normally right now, she would clearly be disgusted with herself.

Her stomach still churned in pain as she gripped both sides of the toilet with such strength that her fingers were aching. Then she began to cough again, the droplets fewer and smaller in size but the pain worse than before. The noodle bits then dangled and splashed on the toilet, which was now a mosaic of the vile mixture of fluids and food.

Her eyes closed as tears began to form on the sides of her eyes. The pain unbearable at this moment. She opened her mouth again when the second discharge was done. Her body limped as the last few remaining strengths she had left her. Then her eyes cleared itself from the darkened haze, her mind began to reform back to sanity and the pain in her body almost non-existent. However, she still paled weakly after her breakfast had been emptied.

She leaned her forehead on the toilet's edge. Not even having the strength to flush it. The stench remained and she thought to herself how she was going to clean all this evidence, as she clearly made a large mess of blood and bile in the girl's restroom. Even the faucet was still turned on.

Right now, she wanted to close her eyes. Rest herself for a minute or two before moving. The event still made her weak and foggy. Breathing normally this time, she tried to open her eyes and reached out to flush the stinky bile and began to stand up for herself. Looking down at her clothes, she saw it messy and crumpled. The neat and stylish look she wanted was now ruined, her glasses slightly slanted and her hair all over the place. Taking some of the toilet paper on the side of the cubicle, she wiped her lips. Not noticing that the sound of the faucet turned on a second ago was now gone.

"That sounded like hell… do you need any help?" a voice said.

She froze and realized that she wasn't alone in the restroom while it all happened. Not having any excuse at hand, she turned slightly in shame and saw a girl in the same uniform as hers, with blonde hair stylized into two buns as well as a concerned look on her yellow-eyed face. Her eyes looked like she was slightly tired and had no sleep, but all in all she was quite pretty and was looking at her with concern strewn across her face.

"L-Let me guess, even if I say no you'll still help me correct?" Izumi replied, though she didn't want to sound rude, she was just a bit exhausted from the rather discomforting experience. The girl giggled sweetly like something exciting was about to occur.

"Now isn't that what normal people should do? Help them when they have problems?" the girl asked, this time she took out a pair of sanitary wipes from her pink bag and offered it to her.

"I guess so, but I'm not used to people helping me. Call it paranoid or whatever…" she said as she took some of her offer and gave it to her back after.

"I don't think it's a bad thing. You got to have some form of cautiousness with everything around you. But right now I am asking if you really need help? Seeing as this-" the girl looked around the carnage she just caused. Izumi simple sighed at what just happened.

"-Is a cause for concern. You feeling alright? I kinda heard you back there, it sounded bad." She finished.

Izumi tried to flash her smile after fixing herself somewhat. Adjusting her glasses and tried to best explain it to the girl. She did have no idea as to what happened specifically, but she wanted to at least alleviate the worry this girl had on her.

"Y-Yeah… kinda bad. I think I just emptied my entire breakfast. But you don't have to worry about that. I'm okay, must have been something I ate."

"You ate something that caused you to bleed this much?"

Izumi left that question in the air as she didn't know how to respond to it. The girl simply laughed at her and smiled. As if the whole situation was a joke, though she didn't feel any ill will towards it.

"I understand if you won't tell me… but at least let me help you clean up. Maybe I'll even escort you to the school infirmary if you want."

"T-Thanks… that's kind of you." Izumi said in surprise as the girl had now taken some of the tissues and helped her clean up. She then wondered why this girl had been so kind with her. While wiping some of the droplets on the floor, the girl was wiping some of the blood stains on the sink area.

"Anyway… you're the girl from the news right? That was awfully brave of you. If that was me, I don't know what I'll do in that situation. I might as well run, but you? I was surprised that you stood up and faced him head on. It was awesome. You don't get to see that kind of bravery on some heroes these days. It also helped that you looked cool too, you know with the red lightning and stuff…" her words sounded so happy and giddy that Izumi almost felt flattered.

Almost.

She then wanted to ask as a small line of thought came to her.

"Are you being this kind to me… just because I was on the news last night?" she asked. Not meaning to sound rude again, but she was quite annoyed with what happened to her recently in this dreaded restroom and she didn't want to waste her time on someone that only wanted to help her just because she was the topic of the week.

The girl then simply tilted her head to her, a confused look on her eyes manifested.

"No… that would be rude wouldn't it? Is it bad that I wanted to help you because I want to? I only recognized you as that girl after getting a good look at you. Honestly, I came by to make sure you were alright and doing okay. It's not normal after all for someone to suddenly puke blood you know." Her response sounded genuine, regardless of how she giddily looked. She then started to feel bad after accusing her of such a thing.

"Sorry... didn't mean to think of you that way, and thanks. I appreciate your concern." She replied, this time with a more beaming look of gratitude.

The girl simply giggled at her.

"Don't worry. I can understand why. Being popular isn't your thing too huh? Guess we're the same then, not much of a people person too." The girl said with a grin as they were both finishing up.

"Oh? And why is that?" Izumi asked, curious this time.

"People think I'm weird and they're more or less scared of me." She said after gathering all the tissue remnants in her hand. She then looked at Izumi who was finishing up on wiping the last few droplets near the toilet. She threw it afterwards after dusting her hands.

"Why would they be scared of you? Or even think weirdly about you?"

The girl then suddenly held the gathered tissues in her hand and sniffed on them deeply as if the damn things were excellent cuisine, she didn't even bother that Izumi was there. She then took a deep breath and a look of euphoria and ecstasy filled her face. Like she was in heaven and she giggled to herself with an almost sadistic smile, complimented with what seemed to be canines on her white, shiny teeth.

Izumi felt a bit intimidated, but instead of being weirded out or scared. She was perplexed and fascinated at her. After her focus was back, she stared at Izumi who still looked at her and flushed red in embarrassment. She then hurriedly threw the contents of her hand to the trash can next to her and shyly played with her fingers (almost like Izumi) with a blushing red face.

"Uh… s-sorry you had to see that."

"Uh-huh…" Izumi simply stated.

"Guess you know now why people think I'm weird and scary huh?" she said in an ashamed and sheepish manner. Izumi simply smiled at her and walked close, taking both her hands into her own and happily grinned with her infamous smile that she always gave to those closest to her.

"Wasn't scared at all, I mean it is part of you. You don't have to believe what people say about you all the time. If that what makes you _you, _then I don't see anything bad with it. Kinda gross but that's hypocritical coming from me since I literally just puked blood and guts a minute ago."

Both girls chuckled at the same time. The girl then smiled back with the same toothy grin as earlier. She then squeezed both their hands together and giggled.

"Damn you must be pretty weird yourself to even remotely accept me that way. But thanks."

"Right back at you and thanks as well for coming to help me."

"Ehehehe… does this make us friends now?" the girl innocently said. Her eyes full of happiness that Izumi admired about her. Her yellow irises staring intently, waiting for her reply.

"Sure! Why not?"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the girl suddenly let out a high-spirited squeal and energetically waved both their intertwined arms in the air. She was so happy that she started to jump on spot, giggling and happily grinning while celebrating her newfound friendship. Izumi simply smiled at her excitement after she let her go and embraced her tightly.

She decided to return the favor as well.

"I finally have a friend! I'm so happy! And she's a weird girl like me too!" she said after a squealing.

"Y-Yeah… glad you're happy." Izumi said as a slight drop of sweat for her enthusiasm appeared at the side of her forehead. She was a bit overwhelmed at how forward and happy she was, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Then she stopped when Izumi's nose had let out one last droplet of blood. Her eyes then focused hard on the crimson colored bodily liquid and was oddly amazed at it. Izumi seemed to notice this as the girl loosened her hold on her and Izumi grabbed another piece of tissue and wiped it off. The girl however kept staring, prompting Izumi to snap her fingers to get her back to reality again.

After snapping for a third time, she got her senses back.

"S-Sorry… I didn't mean to look like a dear on headlights there." The girl embarrassingly said.

"You're really fascinated with blood huh?"

"Yep! And I think anything with blood is rad!"

"W-Well we all have our own version of things we're interested in, so I wouldn't be surprised at all…" she replied. The girl simply giggled again as Izumi then felt that even with the strangeness of the girl before her, she liked her. She was at least true to herself and like Izumi, being honest with who you are was something she respected ad treasured deeply. She saw herself in the girl, maybe not that much but close (except for the weird blood fetish) and she genuinely enjoyed her presence.

Then they heard the school bell rang.

It was almost time for class. Izumi then took off as the girl threw the tissue to the trash and joined her leaving the restroom along with her bag. They talked a few more times as they both hurried to their respective rooms. The girl was still a bit worried with her condition but Izumi assured her that she was fine and would visit the infirmary later after their first class ends. The girl then suggested that she would come with her, to which Izumi agreed with a chuckle.

Before separating Izumi wanted to know her name, the girl smiled at her with that Cheshire grin before speaking to her.

"My name's Himiko. Himiko Toga at your service!" she said with a hand offered to her in a giddy fashion.

"Izumi Midoriya. A pleasure." She replied as they both shook hands. Walking side by side in the hallways. Both not realizing that they stopped at the doorway of the same room. Himiko instantly leapt in joy as she realized what it meant.

"IZU! EEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Oh God I'm SO HAPPY!"

They were classmates and the girl once again embraced her. Not minding Katsuki who had his head appear on the corner of the door with an annoyed look.

"Hey Deku! Who the fuck is this blonde bitch?" he angrily said.

"I'm not a bitch you dick!" Himiko said with her tongue out.

"The fuck you said to me?" Suddenly both her 'friends' started arguing in a strange manner with insults, curses, and giddy laughter that filled the hallways, earning the attention of their homeroom teacher that was trying to get them in to start the class (which fell on deaf ears) and their other classmates who were confused at the whole scene in general.

To Izumi, she simply found relief that as crazy as the scene was…

She managed to find two people she would deem as 'friends'. She simply smiled at them and couldn't wait for what was to come next.

All the while completely forgetting the mystery of the sudden discharge of vomit and blood earlier, an illness that lingered deep within her. Related to the one thing that she was happy to discover yesterday.

* * *

9:36 Hours, Florence Italy…

Inko was having a terrible week. First, an unknown person sabotaged her trip in going home. Leaving her to track down said person's prior whereabouts as well as the 'boss' the man claimed that wanted to talk to her. Regarding that sense with the status of her tracking, it lead to an address that she was not very comfortable with and with that was another invitation from an unknown person again who left a letter with a red seal on her café visit while investigating. She annoyingly held the rosary necklace that he used to kill the 'cab driver' a few nights back while thinking about this while situation. Wondering how her old name 'Jade' was found out and that it linked to her.

The second thing that pissed her off was that when she was using the internet to try and track down the phone the cab driver had, she saw news about All Might that had her daughter in it. As well as news that involved her using her 'quirk' to some degree. It made her stress levels spike through the roof and anger boiled in her when the girl supposedly saved someone. At the same time, she panicked at that thought and concern boiled in her, as she wanted to go home to see her daughter and know her condition. However, for now she couldn't with the mess she was in, so she did the next best thing…

And it was to call Nemuri. They argued for hours on so many phone calls after that night regarding what happened, but both agreed that it was bound to happen someday. They both agreed to do something with her once she comes home. With that knowledge it infuriated her because the girl still pursued that stupid dream of being a hero. Figuring that it was too late and that she wouldn't deter her, she sighed deeply and thought about on what to say to her Izumi to stop her without turning it into another fight. Nemuri argued to her that it was inevitable, and that her angry scolds for her on that matter didn't help at all.

Easing herself so that she could focus on that day, she calmed herself for now with the knowledge that she would speak to her daughter in time after all of this is done.

Which came to the one last thing regarding her stress that she hated this week and it was the fact that with that little stunt with All Might being in the news and covered by almost everyone… came the problem of people knowing and seeing what Izumi's quirk was.

It gave her sleepless nights thinking about it. Putting the dangers of a large possible target being pinned on her girl's back and the fear that her powers would go haywire randomly in public. A thought she did not want to see nor relive again. A little ease came since Nemuri and the doctor they trusted were there to help Izumi, but still in the back of her head, that little glimpse of her standing in front of the villain with her quirk in full swing…

Opened a multitude of problems that sent a cold shiver on her spine when she thought about it. The implications of those who may in fact recognize it is far too high of a probability and she knew that with that was the simple fact that Izumi may no longer be safe.

Another small detail that gravely worried her to such a high degree. A large crosshair was now planted on her back as well as Inko's. Should those people who saw her on the news connect it to her. Which was inevitable, the cover up surname she used was already compromised, evidence being the mystery trail she was following now, and that cab driver that seemed to recognize her with that surname.

_Izumi… I don't know what I'll do to you. _

She continued to walk on the street as people passed by her. Random strangers that she kept her eyes and sensory field on in case something sprang up. So far, there was nothing to be concerned about. The only thing she was concerned today was the address that she needed to go to. The letter dropped into her hands was vague but had one sentence that made her interested.

_We know you are trying to find answers, come to the address with the right mindset and we'll talk_

That one sentence alone made her nerves crawl in slight fear. Questions began to ripple into fruition into her head. Asking why it was worded that way and why did it seem that she was being watched so closely. _"We know you are trying to find answers" _was worded so vaguely her mind went into overdrive in paranoia. As she couldn't determine if it meant that they knew all along that she was investigating about Izumi's past while being under the radar, or if they noticed her presence when she first arrived in this country a month ago.

Trying to recall all signs of possible reconnaissance in her time in Italy, she tried to discern if there was any clues to people peeping at her investigation. She grumbled in response since she didn't suspect anything suspicious at all. Unless…

_Quirk. What if it's a quirk that did this?_

Her thoughts then drifted to the mask she wore in her Jade persona. If this was a mental-based quirk, it would shield her from such quirks, but she wasn't even sure enough if that hypothesis was correct. It also posed a risk as some authorities or people may recognize her while wearing it. Even with her sudden absence in the excess of thirteen years, she was nowhere sure that people would not recognize her.

Inko had worn simple yet movable clothes for today, having a small sling bag and a jacket to cover herself. On the fly should things go south, she would have an easier way in maneuvering herself. Her mask included with her lighter tucked in her pocket.

Then she stopped in front of a walled gate, which had a small complex inside in moderate size. The gate was made out of steel and had no indications of having a way of going inside except for a key. A buzzer was next to it and a speaker on top. Two CCTV cameras were placed on both wall-hubs at the side offering a clear and easy view at the main gate. A small opening that was closed on her side was on the upper portion of the entrance.

Judging the appearance of the compound that was flanked by two other buildings of corporate businesses, she saw that the 'one' who gave the invitation was someone who had a lot of money and a lot of resources at their disposal. People also didn't seem to give a damn about this complex in the middle of the city, making her question if this place was deeply covered up to warrant an almost normal response.

Possibly. Ever since All Might came into the scene, people who flirted with underground affairs alongside villains became increasingly creative with their hiding methods. People may think nowadays that villains were scared and were fewer in number, but in reality it was the opposite. Seeing it first hand with her investigations the past few years only made her more aware of those hiding in the shadows. Waiting for the day to spring into action. It wasn't today of course.

And those people were still wary of heroes.

This here she reckoned wasn't any different. She focused on the buzzer, prompting it to push on its own. She walked closer to it, waiting for someone to speak from the other side.

"State your business." The voice said from the buzzer's speaker. Inko furrowed her brow from the speaker's tone.

"Someone sent me a letter with a red seal. The address was this place." She said simply.

The opening on the steel entrance slid away, allowing Inko to see a set of emerald eyes looking at her. It came in the way that looked Judgmental in nature. She didn't like it, making her to gaze back with the same intensity.

"What red seal was given to you exactly?" the voice said, feminine this time. Inko then took out the letter's seal and showed it. All the while with the rosary twirled around her fist. Seeing both items made the set of eyes widen a bit.

"I see. You may enter our premises." The steel entrance was now being unlocked on the other side, and it opened slightly for her to enter. Calmly walking inside, Inko saw a set of male guards wearing peculiar looking suits with that red seal. Between them was a woman who wore a simple black and gray dress that clung to her form nicely. She had a ponytail on and sported a black choker with hands gloved in lavish apparel. She had a very boss-like air around her completed with what seemed like a monocle stylized on her right eye with a very platinum-like hue surrounding it. The way she looked gave off an intimidating presence as even the guards were somehow shivering in their boots and were sweating lightly. Inko simply tilted her head, unimpressed.

The woman looked at her in a very strict manner, something Inko didn't like as well. Add the fact that she looked like an egotistical bitch made her worse in her eyes.

"She is expecting you. However, it is already two days after we sent that letter and while _she _is patient, I am not. So before I let you see her, you need to give me a reason not to waste her time." The moment she finished saying that the two guards closed the gate behind her. Leaving both women in an intense staring match.

One of Inko's brows raised up, surmounting the challenge before sighing to herself.

**SCHLICK!**

Both guards that were at her back didn't even notice what happened. The only thing they saw was the rosary which was once clean was now dripping with blood on her hands. The two guards suddenly had blood streaming steadily from their necks, and in a gruesome and slow fashion both heads slid off from their bodies. Leaving headless torsos that bled out from the stumps. A small fountain of blood emerged as both heads rolled a few meters away. Trailing blood across the pavement. Puddles of blood now filled the area around Inko who stull stared down at the woman.

"So the reports were real then… you are in fact without a shadow of a doubt the notorious Jade I've heard so much about back in the day. If I wasn't disinterested I would have thought this was an honor to meet you. Oh well…" the words she used bordered on impressed and flattered, but the way she delivered it was so emotionless that Inko almost felt like it was scripted.

"Wow… you must be great in parties." She commented, not even earning a laugh nor a shrug from the woman. She then started to walk away, urging her to follow.

"What about those two?"

"They'll clean up later, the mistress needs you so we need to get to her immediately." She said while walking away. Inko followed her and began to see the surroundings of the compound's grounds. Tall structures amongst a well-kept luxurious garden was clear to the eye. She had to admit the way it was all made impressed her, but she also thought of all the money wasted to make it all fancy. Ridiculous but stylish. She grumbled to it as she kept on walking.

Stopping in front of a door, the woman then turned to her and took the eyewear from her face. Wiping it clean before returning it.

"I must warn you before we go, the mistress is busy right now so if you intend to talk to her smoothly, I suggest you don't disturb her work too much. She has tendencies of being compulsive."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

The woman made a small grin on her face. As if daring her to do it.

"You'll see."

_Tch… overconfident bitch._

After entering yet another fancy looking lobby adorned with various memorabilia pertaining portraits of various Mythological figures, they stumbled upon a red-colored elevator. In which the woman typed in through a keypad to allow them access. As both doors slid open, they both rid the elevator in a silent fashion.

As soon as the doors closed however, Inko didn't expect the next turn of events.

The woman sighed in relief heavily and then began trying to fix her dress that seemed to be too stiff for her. Inko simply watched as the woman then smiled at her, with a wide grin transfixed in an apologetic fashion.

"S-Sorry about that Ms. Jade. I'm not really a serious person. I only act tough to some of the guys up top so they won't think I'm an idiot. Not that I am but jeez, they tend to be so serious in front of me I just get along with the act." A cheerful voice emanating from her words. Like a sudden ray of sunshine being shown in the middle of a cloudy day.

Inko simply stared wide-eyed.

The drastic change with the woman's demeanor was such a surprise to her that she was speechless. Even her face became friendly somehow. A few minutes ago it was something she hated, now… it was something she loathed in annoyance.

"This dress is so damn tight. I wish my boss would somehow get me to wear the same type of duds as yours. I mean these aren't that bad-looking but I technically fill the cliché of proud evil henchwoman too much right?"

Inko remained silent.

"I'll take that as a yes! Damn… even my eyewear on my bad eye looks too fancy. Though I still think it's cool along with my gloves. The gloves look really, really good on me. This dress however, yeesh… black on gray? Ha! It certainly doesn't help me blend in with the crowd, like I'm going out there almost like saying: 'I'm a villain! Come arrest me!'…" she then laughed at her own version of a joke as she continued talking afterwards. Inko remained quiet still, the shock still didn't make her recover yet.

She was actually disturbed a bit… since this reminded her of how Izumi acted when she was excited and cheerful.

"Anyway… I was lying when I said that I was disinterested to you ma'am."

"What in the hell do you mean?" Inko said, this time she was the one a bit pissed and annoyed.

"You know that I did say earlier that I was 'disinterested in you blah blah blah… yada yada. But you get the point… I'm not. I'm actually super excited that you're here! I'm probably your number one fan! It's not every day where I get to meet some very legendary villains of the past! You're practically up there in the hall of fame, hell not even All Might in his prime was able to catch you!"

The mere fact that she looked like an adult woman that had the mental capacity of a teenager made her far feel a bit worse than before. She was already tipping in the point of losing her patience.

"I'm a villain myself! And I work with a super awesome group headed by our boss! What I said though is still applicable. The mistress is a bit compulsive so beware of that, and when someone does piss her off, I don't think anyone I've seen that did so are alive…"

She then made an imaginary line tracing her throat to prove her point. Inko rolled her eyes.

"What's your point?" Inko said plainly.

"Hey I know you aren't really interested in this kind of stuff… hehe. Probably because of me, I ruined the mood didn't I? But I am serious ma'am that neither me nor my mistress are going to waste your time." This time her words were a bit more serious, prompting Inko to at least hear her out a bit.

"Go on…"

"You do remember the guy that we asked to send you that message? The one that disappeared? Which also I want to ask on what you did to that guy did you do it the same with that rosary like ear-MMRPH!"

Inko focused hard enough that the woman's hand got smacked into her noisy lips. She then pointed at her with an angry look this time. She was not joking anymore.

"Zip it with that crap. You said you and your lot won't waste my time. Oblige me or I'll kill you where you stand." She nodded quickly, but that look on her face remained.

_I'm starting to regret coming here. _Inko thought to herself.

"Sorry about that I tend to blabber since you know I am-"

"What the hell did I just say?" Inko warned.

"Right, on to business… the mistress has a proposal for you that she wants to discuss. She said it was very important, that's why you're here."

"How did your mistress even deduce that I was who you claim I am to be?"

The woman then put a finger on her lip and tried to think about it.

"I don't really know exactly. I may be the closest when it comes to the chain of command after my boss, but she doesn't exactly tell me everything. Well except for a few small details coming from an item that was brought into our hands."

_Item. What fucking item?_

"I did hear some bits of info about it, at least with what I can remember."

"Tell me then…" Inko replied. The woman then stared at her dumbfounded and continued talking.

"I remember she said… something along the lines of a file that described a particular quirk."

_A file regarding a quirk? Wait… is this related to her? M-My Izumi? _Memories of that night and the horror of the red discharge came back to her and she immediately took hold of the woman to demand more answers.

"H-Hey… what are you doing?" she said.

"What else did you hear?"

"W-What?"

"You heard me, what else did you hear?" she said firmly, making the woman somewhat intimidated and afraid. She yielded with a whimper.

"I-I think I remember the mistress saying that the quirk w-was 'special'."

Inko then felt the flush of memories running back to her. One of that certain conversation she had of the two people that were trying to hide Izumi. She clutched on the woman's dress as that same sentence came back to her. The last few words of begging that the mystery woman did before she died, leaving the baby in her arms.

_"S-She's special." The woman said with a heavy and sad voice. _The memory crystal clear in her mind. A dreadful thought then began to take place, as this 'item' this woman had spoken of could may well be a clue to the origins of her daughter.

Inko was about to ask for more answers when the elevator gave out a ringing signal, saying that they had arrived at their destination finally. The woman smiled sheepishly in her grasp, she was on her back on the elevator's wall.

"C-Can you let me go? I don't think the mistress will like seeing me this way."

Inko took off her hands from her dress and backed off slightly. The woman then bowed respectfully at her and was fixing her whole attire to be presentable.

"T-Thanks… that got a bit too intense there."

"Is that all that you've heard about the file?" Inko asked. The woman then looked at her as she fixed her eyewear properly. She then clasped both her hands together, returning back slowly to that regal and proud look she used earlier back at the entrance.

"There was one last bit about it, the name of that item… if I can recall correctly it was worded as 'Agony's Embrace' or something along that line… I do think the name is cool but if it's a file about a quirk I have no idea how that name fits."

The red electricity that killed thousands on that very night she miraculously survived in made its way back to her thoughts. That frightening display of power that even made her disturbed at its strength. She also recalled the words the doctor used when she and Nemuri wanted to test what her quirk was.

_"Even with what you two have described to me, I'm afraid I can't really make a proper description of what she can really and actually do with her quirk. All I know is that isn't even scratching what she's capable of. Lord knows what her real limits are, or if she even has them at all."_

Inko was speechless again with that, and it made her all the more scared now that her daughter had now discovered that she had this quirk. The stress in her chest doubled to soaring heights.

"U-Uh c-can you leave the doom and gloom thoughts for later Miss Jade? I don't think she'll like it that it's taking us this long to leave the elevator."

Inko simply nodded as the woman smiled meekly this time and readied herself to return to what Inko described as an 'egotistical bitch'. She typed another set of codes on the keypad, opening the doors and allowing them to leave.

What Inko saw was brightly lit small hallway that had no other directions, just one door at the end of it. They both walked in silence as they reached the door, the woman opening it slowly with a deep breath and entered with Inko at her back. What came next was what looked like a hospital's emergency room. Complete with the same equipment and same tools for such matter. In the middle of it was what looked like an operating table.

Only this time, there was an occupant and a person who was working on said occupant.

While conscious and awake. Blood and guts on the floor. Tools filled with grimey, dirty remnants of innards were scattered everywhere and the person being operated on was screaming in agony. On the top of his lungs while crying in tears with the pain on his voice. His entire abdomen was open while the operator continued to make incisions on his open and bare organs and innards. Blood dripping from the open wounds as the man continued to wail in pain.

Inko simply watched the entire gruesome scene unfold. Undisturbed but certainly not comfortable. She looked at the operator who was wearing a full surgeon's attire while working. The woman beside Inko stepped away and stood next to the doors.

Leaving her in place watching the horror by herself.

The wailing voice was starting to annoy her. But the surgeon didn't seem to pay attention to her, whom was now trying to cut away what looked like the appendix. Feeling as if she wasn't going to be talked to soon, Inko angrily focused on the man's head and within a second the man turned silent in shock. His body and head limped away and blood trickled down his nose. The surgeon stopped working after seeing the man who was apparently dead now. The woman next to Inko let out an audible gasp at what she just did.

Silence filled the room. A deafening silence that hugged them all who were present.

The surgeon then looked at Inko with a scowl. Pulling down the face mask that covered the mouth for her to see. Inko reckoned that she was a woman, seeing the obvious curve of her body and the lips she had. Her eyes still concealed with peculiar looking glasses and her hair covered completely over.

She then placed her tools on the tray. Clanking as they fell and instead of looking at her direction, she put her eyes on the woman next to Inko.

"Didn't I tell you to warn those who came to me that I don't like being disturbed?"

"Y-Yes mistress… I apologize if-"

"Shut it. I'll let it slide for now. Madame Jade here is in fact is our guest. So I guess a bit of freedom is needed, wouldn't you agree?" the woman said in a calm and proper tone with hints of slight malice. Her direction now turned to Inko. Inko didn't reply, the tension in the air palpable.

"It seems you want to cut to the chase then… fine, let's talk."

END OF CHAPTER 3

* * *

**Again thank you for those who are reading and following this story. I really appreciate the support.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Shadows of the Dawn Part 2 - Izumi and All Might have started her first day of training , only to discover something sinister with her quirk. Jade has a conversation that changes everything she knows on that fateful night.**


	5. IV Shadows of the Dawn Part 2

**AN: Hi guys! Back with a new chapter, this one is beefier this time but dont worry, next chapter will be shorter because this one had a lot of things to do in regards to things for the future of this story. With that said, I have to say that I'm thankful to all of you guys that followed and and read this story. It's quite a good feeling seeing this thing to be appreciated :). **

**Lastly, I have to acknowledge that even though I will introduce OCs to the story, I do it in the mindset that every single character will matter in the long run and will not be a one-note. Hence, better look out for those OCs of mine because trust me, they will matter in the end and I'm doing the best I can so that they will have a place on the story. Also, that they will fit in into the Quirky World of MHA...**

**Now onward to Chapter 4! Enjoy...**

* * *

IV. Shadows of the Dawn Part 2

"It seems you want to cut to the chase then… fine, let's talk." her voice was slightly accented, much to Inko's notice. The woman wearing the surgeon's clothes was now putting her gloves away and trying to clean up for herself. She then turned her attention to her as she was throwing away the gloves she used on a separate compartment. The stench was there. The blood in this particular area was a mix of new and dried up stains all over. Indicating that this torture she was doing was not recent. Some of the stains even looked like they were there for days.

"First off, I wanted to know why you ruptured my subject's blood vein in his cerebellum. I was still working on him and having him alive was essential." The woman asked.

"He was being too loud." Inko said simply. The woman then tilted her head with the curious response and she shrugged to it, and placed her ungloved hand gently on the man's head. A faint golden light appeared on her hands and after a few seconds she withdrew and the glow faded away.

"If you are asking what I did to him, it is a simple trick that I use very often. This is my quirk so to speak. In a few moments the wounds on his head will heal and he will be back to what he was a few minutes ago. I hope this display I have with my subject doesn't disturb you, I still have a few things to do with his body. I have not even opened his stomach yet to test a theory of mine." The analytical and cold voice was heard clearly and plainly. To a normal person this encounter would have been very disturbing and gruesome, to Inko this was nothing compared to what she already has seen in life. Her callousness wasn't something she was proud of, but she found it very useful especially with moments like these.

"Is your quirk the healing kind?" Inko asked.

The woman tilted her head again in question.

"Why do you say that?"

"You said he will be back to normal functions soon. If your quirk isn't healing, then what is it?"

The once dead man's finger twitched. The woman noticed it quickly and walked to one of the metal trays. She took out a used syringe and meticulously tried to look for an anesthetic to use. She then injected the syringe on the neck of her subject. Another faint golden glow came from her hands on the vial of anesthetic and once she threw away the syringe the man's body visibly calmed into what seemed like a sedated state. It worked so fast that Inko was impressed. Normally, a body in pain produces so much adrenaline that one simple small does wouldn't cut it. She then figured that it had something to do with the mystery woman's quirk.

"I made sure he will not wake for another hour or two. That would be sufficient won't it? I do want to return on working with him soon. His case is a curiosity that I itch to learn its limits in."

"So it's not a healing quirk then?"

The woman then smiled at her.

"No… but this conversation needs to be in a more proper environment. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I don't care where we talk. All I need to know is what is in the 'file' your looney henchwoman there said to me that you supposedly have."

"Hey! I am not looney. Call me by the appropriate name." the monocle wearing woman said. Inko turned to her noticing that she was trying to be in her 'serious' persona again.

"You never told me your name, so I may settle with 'bitch' for now." After saying this the woman was about to angrily reply until her mistress put her hand out to silence her.

"I reckon this encounter will benefit the both of us… Jade. I only wish that you have patience as I have been patient for you all this time. You have no idea how badly I wanted to talk to you after this item fell into my hands." The mistress said with both hands clasped together.

"I don't share the sentiment. I only want answers from that file."

"As do I have questions for you. Some that needs clarifying, especially with the events of that night fourteen years ago. You want to know more about the file? Give me answers and we can trade. I may even reveal the nature of my quirk to you."

Inko crossed her arms and thought about the request.

"I don't really need any information about your quirk. What I need is what's on the file and I'm not leaving until I see it." the adamant tone did not go unnoticed, even the henchwoman felt her steely resolve coming through.

"I see… then by discussing some key terms we can have a plausible agreement on both sides."

"Should your terms be agreeable; I can oblige you. But _only _if they are agreeable on my part."

"Fair. I will take that in consideration. Nemain dear, lead our guest to the recreational room. We'll continue our talks there Jade. I just need a moment to get me out of this inappropriate attire." The woman commanded her underling, now revealed to be called Nemain nodded with a bow and gestured Inko to follow her into another room. Inko cautiously followed while keeping her eyes on the woman.

"Do not worry Jade. Whatever happens at the end of this day, I assure you it will not be lead to waste. You can count on that."

As soon as Inko was out of the room and lead into another, the woman took off her eyewear used in the operation. Revealing a set of scarred eyes that were grayed out. They were mangled nastily by how the remains of her eyes looked. Patches of burnt and almost scraped out wounds that scarred over through time. However, she didn't look fazed at all, in fact she mused to herself that she could see clearly than what others may suspect.

She then took off her the cap that covered her short, dark violet hair and took out a small device from the tray next to her. Her eyes glowed faintly in the same golden hue that her quirk manifests. She then pressed a button on the device and after a few rings (indicating a call), someone spoke out.

"Is it time mistress?"

"Yes… call the rest, we have a long day ahead of us. Should things go as we plan, we may yet be closer to our goal."

"What of the child then mistress?" as soon as the voice said this, the hologram projector opened up an image of Izumi using her quirk as she seemingly electrified the slime villain. The woman's lips fashioned itself into a small grin.

"All good things come to those who wait Zoraya..."

* * *

15:46 Hours, Aldera Junior High…

The school bell rang. Classes were over for the day. It had been a very normal course of events, except for the two people that were relatively new in Izumi's life. Those people were no other than Katsuki Bakugou and their new eccentric classmate, Himiko Toga. Himiko was a surprise to the whole class as her rather queer and strange behavior seemed to have made them nervous. She wasn't rude nor terrible in any sense, but the mere fact that she kept having that estranged Cheshire grin on her face when she was listening in class (albeit in a bored sense), as well as her actions where she seemed to have an imaginary world on her own. People found her weird. To Izumi, she not only enjoyed her wacky antics but she also really found her company to be quite fun. After their initial strange meet up in the restroom, they had stuck together quite well. Helping each other in some of the subjects and more or less enjoyed talking to each other to no end. Some of their classmates found Izumi's fondness for the blonde girl to be rather strange even for her, but they never really thought more about it as it only increased the way how they saw Izumi.

Which was neither good nor bad.

However, what did surprise everyone today including Izumi herself was that Katsuki, the hothead in class that looked lowly upon everyone in school was talking to her. Of course at first, it wasn't at all surprising for the two of them to talk since they were in fact involved in a villain incident that nearly killed both of them (according to their classmates), so it was natural for them to do so. What everyone did not expect was when Izumi and Katsuki began talking to each other, Izumi wasn't at all fazed and wasn't afraid of him. Bakugou whom did his absolute worst in threatening her with everything seemingly stopped when she just smugly smiled at him.

This weird behavior even went beyond when the crimson-haired girl was seen with Bakugou either in talking, sharing a table in lunch with the blonde weirdo, and lastly they interacted on so many occasions like casual close friends that it sparked some small rumors of the two's real relationship. To Katsuki and Izumi though it was a different perspective.

A very different perspective.

Initially after the talk Katsuki's mom had for Izumi and him, their relationship grew into a rivalry that was fueled by teasing, arguments, but in the end they strangely got along well. To the point that it seemed Izumi was the only one that he tolerated at all. However, that did not mean that she liked him. She hated how rude he was and how brash his attitude could be at times. The worst of it was that she hated how she treated Himiko, though this was supplemented by the small fact that Himiko never really cared for how he treated her. As well as that she also had a very vocal relationship with the hothead.

All in all, Izumi tolerated Katsuki. To a degree. She neither truly hated him nor truly liked him. Both seemed to have had a mental agreement between themselves that they would be rivals on achieving their dreams as heroes. Especially since Izumi hated how he called her as his sidekick one day, with Katsuki being overly dramatic over the fact that he was supposedly better than her in every way.

Thankfully as soon as the bell rang, the boy just glared at her, it was his own version of goodbye and walked off to go home. Izumi didn't mind at all. In fact, she was kind of relieved that they wouldn't argue again to end the day. Speaking of which, to sum up her day in school…

"Never thought I'd say this… but I really liked going to school today." Izumi said as she and Himiko were walking side by side towards the gate. Some of the other students were also filing out to go home. Her blonde companion on the other hand had sort of a skip on her step, a small smile on her face as she and Izumi continued to talk together.

"Why? You don't like school?"

"Not necessarily that I don't like it… I just don't enjoy it. Being myself and all it's hard when you don't have friends to get your through the day."

Himiko placed a playful hand on her shoulder and leaned closer to her. To some this may have been a violation of privacy, but Izumi actually never really minded how the blonde girl acted. She enjoyed her eccentricities. Being rather weird herself, she liked Himiko better that way.

"Aww… but you have a friend, and it's little old me."

Izumi smiled back as the girl rested her head on her shoulder. Izumi then responded by putting her arm over her back.

"That's why I enjoyed being at school today. Because finally after all this time, I have a friend."

The blonde girl's eyes widened as she flashed that signature Cheshire grin. She then started to tickle Izumi by poking her all around and the both of them laughed before stopping. Not minding how people looked at them.

"What about you? Did you have any friends back in your old school Himiko?"

"I thought we agreed you'd call me Miko?" the blonde girl said with a pout. Only for Izumi to do the same they both giggled as they neared the gates of the school.

"And you agreed to call me Izu I know… sorry."

"In regards to your question, no I don't really have friends. I thought I told you that when we first met in the girl's res-MMPH!" Izumi quickly put a hand on her rather high volume voice. Looking around to see whether someone was listening on them. Thankfully no one did and she sighed in relief.

"Hey! What was that for?" Himiko protested when Izumi retracted her hand.

"I do not want everyone to hear about how we met alright? That was the sole reason why we cleaned the whole damn place." Izumi said with a low voice. Prompting the girl to think about it.

"Oh."

Izumi then saw the slight frown on her face and she then returned the favor by smiling back at her with a pat on the back.

"Don't be so sad about it Miko… I mean, as gross and weird that moment was when we met I'll never really take it for granted. I met you there and I'm happy to say that it wasn't a bad thing at all. Not entirely… maybe slight." Himiko chuckled at her.

"I guess two weird girls without friends were destined to meet on that moment huh?"

They both simply giggled as they both stopped by the gates. Moving aside not to cause any problems with those who were going home. The other students filing out as Izumi stood by, waiting for Himiko to leave first before they went their separate paths. Even with the excitement of finally being able to see All Might again, she found herself a bit sad that she would not meet her new friend again until tomorrow.

Himiko then tapped her shoulder while holding the straps of her bag. Her two buns by the sides of her hair moved slightly as a gust of wind flew by. Izumi's brightly crimson hair with green highlights also waved by as they both sighed. The day having been over for them.

"Oh, I never got to ask you Miko, what is your quirk anyway?"

"My quirk? Well… it's not something you'd usually see in people." Himiko said, surprisingly in a shy and embarrassed way. Like she was somehow afraid of something.

"What's so wrong about that? I have a weird quirk too."

"Well, compared to yours Izu, mine doesn't exactly look or even sound 'heroic' at all." At first the blonde expected Izu would look down on her, instead what she got was Izumi grabbing the sides of both her shoulders. Along with an excited look almost exactly like the way she did to her when they both knew that they were classmates.

"What is it then? It has got to be something rad and cool that you won't tell me right? Right?"

Himiko almost felt uncomfortable.

"You really like quirks huh?" the blonde asked. Izumi instantly withdrew, a bit of shame and guilt for overwhelming her like that.

"Sorry, it's an obsession of mine. You remember that notebook I always write things on in class? I write all the details and knowledge I can scrape up with quirks from both heroes and villains I see. I also do it on some people I observe too. I-I know it's a bit invasive in terms of privacy, but I assure you I just kinda do it as hobby of sorts." Izumi said while playing with her locks of crimson hair.

"Oh! So that's why you keep mumbling to yourself. You're really in this kind of stuff huh?"

"Yeah. That and it was always my dream of being a hero."

"Cool." Himiko plainly replied.

"Now that you know a bit about me, why don't you tell me what your quirk is."

Himiko's eyes widened as she tried to think of an excuse not to, only for her to see that her new friend was so eager to know what her quirk was. She smiled and gave in. That smile of hers that combatted hers was far too cute to say no with.

"Fine… it's uh, just promise me you won't tell anyone or wri-HEY!" her sudden shout was brought out when Izumi took one of her notebooks out like a reporter ready to write everything she said.

"What? You didn't say that I wasn't allowed to write about it on my notebook." Izumi said while waiting in anticipation.

_Holy shit… she's really obsessed with this. _After thinking about it, she began to laugh. Clearly amused by Izumi's antics. Izumi on the other hand simply shrugged in response at her and waited still for her to say something about her quirk.

"Alright… just don't be surprised or shocked about it okay?"

"Pfft… I've seen almost a dozen kind of quirks with my little hobby Miko… I don't think your quirk will surprise me at all." Izumi replied.

"It's related to blood…" as soon as she said that, Izumi quickly started writing. Himiko took a deep breath and continued while closing her eyes in embarrassment

"I use the blood of other people to fuel my quirk. L-Like a vampire I guess…" Himiko then opened her eyes seeing Izumi, barely fazed at all with the revelation. She was writing down notes like nothing and she was mumbling while doing so. Himiko was surprised. Normally there would have been a reaction by now. Izumi then stopped, looking at Himiko with anticipation.

"Well? Go on…"

"Y-You're not scared?"

"Of what?"

"Of me… that I take blood from others. That I'm as obsessed with them as you are with quirks."

"So? Everyone's different, and I'm sure you're not bad enough to force people to give you blood. I mean it's weird asking for blood from random people but it's not all something that I would categorize as scary." Himiko simply stared at the rather logical and analytical reply. She didn't expect this at all.

Truly Izumi was something else.

"Alright moving on… what does ingesting or is it touching does one person's blood do to you?" Izumi said as she tapped the end of her pen's tip on her cheek.

"It's ingesting and no, touching doesn't work."

"So it's a quirk that uses ingestible materials in order to work, interesting."

"Am I an experiment?" Himiko teased. Izumi grinned but shushed her to continue.

"Ingesting blood depending on the amount allows me to copy the appearance of the person it belonged to. Down to the very last detail along with voice, to do so my body produces this porous-like material that covers me and it transforms me into the form I want. The amount ingested is also a gauge of how long I'll be able to stay in that form before the outer layer dissolves."

Izumi wrote it while she talked and instantly a thought came to her. About a certain moment earlier that day that confused her. Himiko noticed her intensified look and wondered what she was thinking. Izumi's eyes faintly glowed in red and the blonde stood back a bit. Surprised in seeing it first-hand, the blonde girl inched slightly away.

Izumi's eyes widened and quickly smirked as the now obvious dark purple glow was surrounding Himiko's form. At that moment she put two and two together, recognizing the strange event from earlier with their homeroom teacher. Her eyes went back to normal afterwards.

"Izu? You kinda zoned out there."

"Tell me Miko… you were the one disguised as our homeroom teacher when I was being swarmed by those people, correct?"

Himiko stared at her, a bit shocked for her to deduce that truth so quickly. She then smirked back, knowing that Izumi was a very clever girl.

"How'd you know? I'm always really good at acting. Didn't think you'd bust me that quick. People I meet don't usually notice it at all."

Izumi held out her hand.

"First, I'm very observant because Mr. Higashkita has never once in my entire stay in school protect me, praise me, or even show any form of kindness towards me. So I doubt he'd do that sort of thing for me, even Katsuki's hotheaded ass hasn't got any soft spot for him."

Himiko raised her brow.

"Second, you were a bit mistaken on the clothes. The moment I stepped in class he was wearing a totally different get-up and… I also noticed that you said the class was supposed to have an early start. Jokes on you though, I was called to the principal's office for an excess of at least twenty minutes and when we first met the moment we arrived at the classroom, classes haven't at all started yet. That means that 'early start' of yours was nothing but fake."

_She's really clever. _Himiko thought to herself as she looked at Izumi. She then started clapping slowly with an impressed expression.

"Wow, that was so accurate that I never even noticed some of the details you highlighted about."

Izumi chuckled and waved her off as she tucked her notebook back in her bag.

"Nah, I wasn't one hundred percent sure about that. Call it a hunch or something, but I think I got the hypothesis the moment I used my quirk on you."

"You used… your quirk on me? Oh! That faint glow on your eyes? That was your quirk?"

"Kinda, it's a passive effect that my quirk seems to have. I'm able to engage my vision in the red glow that you see and with it I can see people in different varying colors. I assume it's related to their quirks but I don't really get anything else besides that."

"I get it now, you used it on me when you first saw me as Mr. Higashkita."

"Yeah and after seeing now that you had a dark purple glow around you, I managed to see the final piece of the puzzle and played a hunch based on that." Himiko simply had a very awed expression on her face to which Izumi simply laughed at.

Izumi then took out her phone to notice that her meeting with All Might was due in the next half hour, so she looked at Himiko and bode her farewell. The blonde girl doing the same and promising to see each other tomorrow again. Having both their day's fulfilled, they eventually separated from each other as they took different paths. Izumi walking towards her destination and Himiko taking the bus home.

As soon as Himiko was alone to herself sitting on the bus, she put her bag on her lap and took out what seemed to be one of the tissues where Izumi's blood stains were. She sniffed on it, feeling the sensation of euphoria settle in her again. A wide grin plastered on her face as she traced the blood stain with her hand. Happy and content with the events that transpired.

Her eyes turned obsessive again as she thought about Izumi.

They had fun together and she was sure with all the things considered, that they were going to have the best of time together as friends.

_I can't wait for us to play again soon Izu… _she thought as she held the tissue in her hands tightly…

With a maniacal grin showing off her sharp canines. Giggling to herself softly as the bus moved.

* * *

"Is everything to your liking Madame Jade?" the 'Mistress' said to Jade who was sitting across from her in what looked like a Victorian-Era styled room. Complete with a small table for tea parties and pleasantries in the middle of the room. The whole large room in itself was decorated with such a touch of classical architecture, one that sparked in the inspiration of both Athenian and Roman in nature. A small garden full of various colorful chrysanthemums were placed surrounding a sculpture that poured water in that fountain. If Inko wasn't aware of where she was, she would assume this to be either a monument or a museum with how it was made.

It was simply gorgeous to look at. Even with her standards.

On the table laid a cup full of sugar cubes, placed neatly in the middle between two other cups to accommodate both people who were sitting across from each other. Next to the table was a trolley, containing a tray full of various utensils and a teapot that was steaming next to a thermos that contained coffee. Holding the handle of the trolley was Nemain, who was now wearing the same dress as earlier, the only difference was she was now wearing an owl-styled half mask that covered her eyes, with a stylized structure on her left eye to accommodate her monocle. Letting her see better even with the mask on. With her platinum-colored gloves, she stood by waiting for orders. Like a maid ready to serve her master.

The mistress on the other hand had changed her whole look entirely. Now wearing a full mask that was inspired by Roman theater masks used in the days of old. The mask was feminine in nature and had a small expressionless look on it made to reference Octavia, the sister of the Ancient Roman Emperor Augustus. Her robes were pattered to look exactly like what empirical women of status wore on that period. Accentuated by the stark red color with gold highlights pattered throughout. Her hair was also tied at the back by intricate knots and on top her head laid a crown wear the rest of her outfit was filled with jewels of various kind. Her demeanor was now that of a queen, however this look encouraged Inko more to think lowly of the assumed leader of this whole place. Giving her more reason not to trust them.

In fact, she already was on edge as in this room together with the three of them were five more individuals, all women who were either standing in the corners or whom were sitting in random places in the room. All eyes on Inko, who was holding the teacup in her hands. Their presence was more than enough reason for her to be on edge, as their gazes varied from hate, disinterest, and downright lust to kill her right then and there on that spot.

"You want my honest opinion? Not a fan of tea… coffee would be nice." Inko stated plainly as she eyed down on the queenly 'mistress'. The sharpness of her voice did not go unnoticed by the other individuals in the room. All of them seemed to have a distinct mask that was unique to each one.

"Not to your taste then, very well… darling Nemain, please prepare another cup for our guest. Coffee this time. Oh, do you have a preference in coffee Jade?"

"I'm fine with anything, though I like coffee more when it's bitter." As soon as she said this, the other woman who was close to the 'mistress' winced and was about to go near Inko until their leader held out her hand. Nemain poured Inko's coffee and replaced the cup that was on her table with the new one.

"Your taste in beverages are very amusing Jade. As much as I respect those who drink coffee, I think tea is healthier overall."

"Like I care much to begin with, but thanks…" Inko said as she sipped her coffee. True to form, it was bitter, harsh and strong but she liked it overall. So much so that she looked impressed at Nemain, whom the woman nodded respectfully back to her.

"Before we start talking… uh, should I call you 'mistress' too?" Inko then asked. The woman giggled softly under the mask and shook her head in response.

"Oh that is not required of you. You are my guest so we must be treated as equals."

"What should I call you then?"

"Juno." The woman now known as Juno said to her as she tapped her teaspoon on the rim of her cup. Nemain taking the signal as a hint, took out a plate of biscuits from the trolley and placed it in the middle of the table. Inko squinted her eyes as she saw the dish, the whole atmosphere which was so damn formal got to her pretty bad. She wasn't a fan of it.

"Mind if I take some?" Inko told Juno as she was reaching her hand to get some of the biscuits.

"Of course, take as much as you like. We'll be here for quite a while so I'll be famished if I were you." After she said this, Inko took one biscuit and took a bite out of it before turning her attention back to her host.

"Back to point here _Juno… _before we start, I would like to know why we're in this room surrounded by a bunch of edgy villain wannabes while we supposedly make our 'discussion'." The green-haired telekinetic woman spat out, clearly aggravating the other individuals in the room with her words that were aimed at them. The nearest one to Juno, a white-haired woman with a peculiar looking full mask shaped with large spires atop her head that acted like a halo-inspired crown of sorts moved closer with both fists clenched and an air of rage in her.

"Don't you dare call us by those names! Villain as you may be, we are not scared by the likes of you." The woman had a very Slavic accent with her. It hindered some of the words harder in a sense to understand, but being that Inko had met such people before she understood well what the freakish-masked woman had to say.

"Zoraya… Madame Jade is our guest. Treat her with the proper decorum."

"B-But Juno! She has insulted us, surely you must see that- "

Juno's mask glowed faintly in gold. Zoraya stood down as she returned back to where she was originally. Annoyed but obeying nonetheless. Inko smugly smiled at her, winking to add more weight. Zoraya looked away, arms crossed across her chest in anger.

"I am sorry for my colleague's insubordination. She tends to lose her temper really fast."

"I assume the others are nutjobs as well?"

"In a way… yes."

Inko leaned closer.

"Then why are they here exactly? As your bodyguards? Are you that afraid of me?"

Juno stopped moving and simply looked directly at Inko. Unperturbed, Inko simply narrowed her eyes on the woman who didn't seem to flinch as well.

"Well… are you?"

Nemain looked concerned for what was to happen next. However, Juno simply sighed deeply to herself and returned to her friendlier demeanor prior.

"Do not mistake my words for being rude Jade, but in no way am I afraid of you or any other quirk user of that matter. I simply tend to use violence as last resort. You do understand this right? Playing all your cards is simply foolish, keeping something to ensure at least safety in your own right is a natural strategy. One that I think you know and use very well. With your track record that is."

Inko mentally agreed to that. All her old jobs always resulted in something she used with an initial strike plan and following it up by having one ace under her sleeve. It had proven itself useful, especially when she encountered All Might back in those days.

"I guess I can see it that way, so these… _people_, they're your insurance?"

"They are valuable to me, not merely for bodyguard purposes. Since their abilities are formidable and acceptable to my margin, I offer them something in return for their loyalty in exchange."

Inko then looked at the other women in the room. One in particular, which was a rather lithe and well-built woman was looking at her dangerously. A glint of playfulness and sadistic-tendencies were in her eyes. Inko scoffed and looked back at Juno.

"You sure these freaks won't simply jump ship the first chance they get?"

"Oh do not worry on that matter on my part. I have what you said earlier… 'insurances'."

"Alright, then to make me comfortable I want to know a bit of info from each of them. This is non-negotiable, should you refuse I walk out the door and we don't see each other. As for the file, I think I'll have to take it myself forcefully the next time you see me." Inko threatened. The other woman on the brink of moving to either kill her or beat her into submission. Yet Juno was their final word, they wouldn't move without her consent.

Juno simply nodded after a brief pause.

"Very well, since this is a bit related to our little topic at hand."

Juno then pointed at the nearest woman next to her, the woman with the halo-inspired crown and mask stood in attention. Her white hair flowing by her sides.

"Have you heard of the little mystery disappearance in Ukraine regarding a small town population being vaporized mysteriously out of thin air? Leaving nothing organic behind. Not even remains of dust nor blood was found. The local heroes in the area namely, Red Son wasn't even able to sense nor find any evidence to link it with any person or villain. The case is still not closed, being that no suspects nor evidence was found to provide any clues."

Inko looked at the woman, who she heard was called Zoraya.

"I'm guessing she's the one who supposedly made everyone in that town disappear."

"She is… but it was not by her choice however. I found her barely controlling her abilities so here she is now. Giving her a home and purpose, she is now mine. Loyal and astute. Isn't that right Zoraya?"

Zoraya nodded and whispered something under her breath. Inko assumed it was either Russian or Slavic. Inko then returned her gaze to Juno.

"What's her quirk?"

"You asked I give information, so that's the only thing you'll get from me."

Inko furrowed her brow.

"Go on then…" she replied with a bit of sharpness in her voice. Juno then pointed towards another woman who was sitting next to the fountain, a dark-skinned woman who had noticeable pink hair and blue eyes. Dressed in a shapely seductive beige-cream gown-like attire with pale dirty-green parts in it sewn almost hastily like a horror monster. She had a half-mask like Nemain albeit hers only covered her eyes in a veil-like material, above her mask was a crown-like structure headed by a feather entrusted with a ruby jewel in the center. The mask was connected to a hood that covered the back of her head and her pink hair. On their sides were beige bone like protrusions sticking out, colored gruesomely by something in pale dried red (perhaps blood). Her hood also flowed into a cloak colored in the same dirty green as her dress, with more bone-like structures at the tips of it.

All in all, the woman looked bizarre and utterly beautiful at the same time. A strange kind of beautiful that both appealed and repulsed anyone who would see her.

"That fairly dressed maiden over there is one of my most cherished. We call her Bilquis. Don't let her looks deceive you, no person has ever lived to tell the tale when she comes for you. When I let her loose she could probably be the cause of over at least a thousand missing person reports in the middle-east alone. Most of the remains in terms of evidence are samples of vaginal fluid and semen left in crime scenes. She also has a knack of being overly close with her victims, she enjoys the spoils too much that nowadays I keep her on a tight leash to ensure no prying eyes would come and relate those kills to us."

Inko looked at the woman, who was now waving at her and had a stare of full of intent put at her. Like the woman was inviting her and alluring her to take the bait. Inko sighed heavily and looked back at Juno. The woman was exotically beautiful but she had no time for that.

"Let me guess, she's the first person in this little operation of yours when you built it?" Inko asked.

"That you are correct in Jade. In truth, the first time I met her it wasn't in very pleasing terms. A little persuasion and… special treatments allowed me to put her under my control. She's been loyal to me ever since." Juno said as she conjoined both her sets of fingers while they conversed. Inko then saw at the corner of her eye, Bilquis squishing her breasts together at her while her tongue was out. Inko simply rolled her eyes.

"She doesn't look nor sound _loyal _to me. You better watch out on that."

Juno simply chuckled at her statement.

"I have contingencies. You do not need to worry for me."

Inko didn't feel relieved with what the woman said to her instead, Juno continued with her small introductions of her little squad there with them. She then turned her finger towards the rather lithe, large and well-built woman in the room who seemed to want to rip the throat out of Inko earlier.

"She on the other hand, is probably what some may call as the muscle of my operation. Although not in a traditional sense. This woman here you may probably have known about with one of her ever famous works of art in Egypt and in South Africa."

Inko eye's widened when she looked at the woman again, this time with a smug glare to add.

"You're the revolutionary? The one that almost put the entirety of the African continent into a state of war. I've heard so much about you. Thought you were dead though." Inko said with a tone that lingered in impressed and disappointment. The woman simply glared at her, the large scar that ran down on one of her eyes was clear to everyone. The bottom half of her face was covered by a partial mask designed to look like the jaws of a lion. Her hair in an striking red orange color which was shaved on the sides, almost looking like a Mohawk in a sense to how it ended. The shaven parts of her head was adored with various tattoos, most of which were African in nature as well as ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs scattered throughout. Her eyes lined with kohl with her scarred eye stylized with an eye of Horus tattoo and her other eye lined by piercings with glittering sapphire and gold-lines jewels.

Her neck was also adorned by tattoos, made in a linear and tribal fashion. Her rather large cleavage covered by a decorated chest piece fashioned into a Hawk with both wings spread out. The gold ornate armor piece was decorated by Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and symbols ('spells' that granted protection in the old days) along with some decorative jewels to finish the look. The edges of her armor on the topside was line with thick lion mane fur that ran along her back and shoulders. Her arms gauntleted with gold braces and her hands, had long claw-like fingernails protruding from her fingers. They were stark red in color and she seemed to both retract and expand it at will.

After Inko looked her down the woman merely grunted in response to her. Juno then turned to her and she drew her rage back. Inko was honestly impressed that Juno was able to restrain such a person, because if the rumors were true with the various war crimes this woman has committed, then Juno may be more than what the sum of her looks made her out to be. Inko decided to be more cautious this time.

"How did you get her of all people?"

"She was hunted down by international authorities, some heroes have cornered her but she managed to claw her way out. I found her nearly dead in a pier in Gibraltar. Fate it seemed lead her to me and now here she is, repaying a debt. She's not the most friendliest of my charges but she's very obedient. Believe it or not, she's actually very patient." Inko then looked at the woman again who snarled.

"What do you call her then? It's something animal-based I guess huh?"

"We call her Sekhmet."

Inko started to see pattern with the names. Juno then moved on with the next woman who was sitting next to Bilquis, however she seemed to be more transfixed with the flowers than the entire conversation itself. She was wearing yellow and maroon clothes that was in the middle of being a partial armor and wrap dress. Her shoulders were armored shoulder guards fashioned in a bizarre yet elegant manner. The middle of her chest was covered by a black Kevlar-like material adorned with an emerald jewel necklace. Her neck and her hair was covered by her attire in the same black material while decorated by golden arcs and weaves. The back of her head was shaped like a bun covering what seemed to be a white casing arced by the golden weaves. Her face had two strands of her emerald-colored hair that dangled over her fully-masked insectoid-inspired faced. With only two thin openings in her mask for her to see. Her arms were covered by emerald and gold gloves, what struck Inko most was that around her hands a small group of insects were weaving in her arms in and out.

"That would be Anansi. She's one of the newer ones here. Didn't take long to convince her. She needed money for her 'children' so I obliged. Her quirk however was rather interesting so I kept her."

Inko smirked.

"So she's a greenhorn?"

"Yes in a sense, but she is capable. More than that actually. She's as new as the last one over there…" Juno said as she gestured for the final woman to come, well in terms of looks she looked no older or close to Izumi's age. Possibly slightly older as she was the only one with no mask to speak of. Her hair was brown in color and her eyes were covered with futuristic-looking goggles. She had a blue skin tight suit that covered her entire body. Segmented with platinum plates that armored some areas with her arms colored brightly in what seemed to be brightened blue material, her fingers especially that glowed in a rhythm very second of so. She seemed very quiet, only shyly moving closer to Juno's side.

"This is probably my most special case… she's unique and has a very particular set of skills and abilities. We call her Io… and we have been very productive with tests on her."

The girl simply smiled shyly and suddenly did a series of hand signals in an attempt to communicate. Inko managed to understand at least a portion of it. _It is nice to meet you!_

Inko narrowed her eyes at the girl and she blushed while looking away.

"Were the introductions enough to satisfy you Jade?"

"Enough… the last two were really vague, but that's not the point isn't it?"

"Yes… and you do remember what I said the introductions are related to our little predicament regarding the file correct?"

Inko nodded and Juno turned to Nemain to signal her in taking something out of the trolley. A beefy envelope was pulled out and it was placed on the table. Inko instantly drew her attention to it. Juno then took out a worn out but still readable folder out of it. Holding the files in hand, Juno then looked at Inko.

"We haven't hashed out the deal's details yet nor even agreed to it but since you've been a really good sport, I'll allow you to see the file." She then handed the folder towards her, Inko felt suspicious but she took the file regardless. Inko then carefully opened the file and saw compilation of notes that were both printed as well as written. What caught her eye was the term 'Agony's Embrace' written on one of it. Inko then closed the file and put it back to the table. Eyeing Juno for anything she might do.

"You don't have to doubt if it's true or not. That is the actual file itself." Juno stated.

"Why give it to me this early?"

"Because Inko Midoriya… like the rest of the women here in this room their quirks are unstable."

Io then moved closer and her arm glowed, bluish-gray material that seemed sand-like started transforming into a hologram projector and Inko was confused until her eyes widened and her heart sank in fear. It was Izumi, while she discharged her red electricity at the slime villain.

"And something tells me you are hiding one behind your back."

Inko flinched but did not yielded.

"So… what if I do?"

Juno then leaned closer, Inko sensed that behind that mask, a large smirk was on her face. Izumi's face on the picture being projected was closed up to her face. The red energy radiating around her form, giving Inko flashbacks of that night that changed her completely.

"I'm afraid you don't have the means to control the power this child has Inko Midoriya. Do you even know what her quirk is?" Juno said in a questioning and very incisive voice. Inko clenched her fists, because in reality her words couldn't ring true enough.

"I'm going to say that's a yes. With that said, this is the reason why I invited you to talk."

"Don't go there." Inko spat back.

Juno pointed at the hologram, having no care in the world even with how she glared at her.

"I want her Inko and I know you don't have the means to contain her."

"She's my daughter. I won't give her to you." Her words were as firm as ever.

Juno started to giggle softly.

"And don't tell me what the gravity of the situation is with her. I know that good enough. I was there on that night in Aldera Ward. I know how powerful she is." Inko continued.

"Is that so? Do you really know your… _"daughter's" _quirk is? Do you really know how dangerous she is? Do you truly want to know what _that child_ is capable of?" Juno taunted. Inko looked back at the file. Even the doctor that tested Izumi's quirk was not able to discern what it was.

_"She's special…" _the woman who was hiding Izumi said that night. The uncertainty of it all eating way at her. She was reluctant to admit it, but after the news came out about Izumi re-awakening her quirk in front of the world to see, she needed it now more than ever to learn about her quirk.

After a second of silence, Juno pushed the folder closer towards Inko. An amused demeanor in every move she made took Inko to more levels of anger.

"I implore you to read the page colored in red. That should be a start." Juno taunted yet again. Inko put her attention back at the folder and opened it slowly, seeing the page she mentioned covered by two other files. She then took it out and began to slowly read it.

After the second paragraph, Inko's shock couldn't help to stop her from covering her mouth.

The mounting dread within her when it came to Izumi stooped down deeper into the abyss.

"Now… are you ready to discuss our terms?"

* * *

16:55 Hours, Dagobah Beach...

"Hey Young Midoriya! It's pretty comfy up here in this fridge, so how are you doing down there?"

"S-screw you All Might…" Izumi said as she heaved and heaved with all her strength while holding on to ropes to try and move a large unused refrigerator… with her hero All Might on top. Right now however, she wasn't sure whether to be mad or annoyed that one of the reasons she was struggling was because of him sitting comfortably on top of the contraption.

"Come on… I thought you wanted to be a hero! Show me that you have the resolve!" All Might cheered as he pumped a fist into the air. Izumi frowned further. She _really _hated him today.

"Sir… wouldn't forcing her to try and move all that weight with you there is a bit excessive?" a voice said, revealing a long and white haired woman standing next to Izumi who was holding a bottle of water next to a neatly placed table containing numerous supplies. She was dressed head to toe in a formal suit. Her eyes and face seemed emotionless but she had a worried vibe coming off her. What struck Izumi most with her appearance when she met this woman half an hour ago was her bunny ears, that were standing up near the top of her head.

She was All Might's assistant herself, Kaguya Usagiyama.

"Don't question my training methods Ms. Kaguya! My trainer back in the day was a lot harsher than this. This isn't even close to the horrors I've been through…" All Might said as a chill went up his spine recalling the numerous times both his mentors made him go through in the past. Fortunately, unlike him back in the day the young girl seemed to have an ironclad composure. Making him smile that she would in fact be strong enough to hurdle herself in this.

"HRRRRRMMMMMMMMM!" Izumi said as she heaved another go at the ropes again. Sweat drenching the clothes she packed for today. It was her casual clothes, a shirt that was dark green with the words 'T-SHIRT' printed over it and some dark blue jogging pants. Her hair was tied as her crimson and green tipped locks were all over her, some of it wet with her own sweat.

"Perhaps you should take a drink first Ms. Midoriya?" Kaguya offered, her bunny ears drooping a bit at her state. Izumi shook her head. She wanted to prove herself that she was ready and strong to be a hero, so whether All Might was being an ass to her she needed to do just as he says to prove him that she was worthy of his choice for her to be his successor.

She had to prove it with her own strength. She wouldn't do it any other way besides that.

"People move these things every day you know, some of them don't even have super strength…" All Might said as he took out his phone while amusingly watching his soon to be protégé. Izumi kept on heaving as sweat continued to perspire on all around her body. She was almost reaching the breaking point. Being not a very physical person, she lost more stamina than needed and her body was weakening very quickly.

She did not expect this as she arrived later this day, she was surprised when she arrived at the address, seeing the Dagobah Municipal Beach itself (which was a landfill full of trash). With that, seeing All Might there in his normal form next to his 'assistant/secretary' gave way for her to seemingly understand what was about to happen. She expected training.

She did not expect what her hero would say next, and that was to move this large appliance to dispose of it elsewhere. She thought it was a joke, but she found that the only one laughing was her and when All Might gave her some support in the form of his iconic thumbs up, she gulped while trying not to lose her composure.

Now, she was giving it everything she had on trying to prove herself. Which was in the form of trying to impossibly move this large and heavy object, with All Might included.

"I daresay you should get up from your seat sir, I think you're asking too much on the girl for her first day." Kaguya said as she poured a plastic cup with All Might's herbal drink and handing it to him.

"Argghhhh… i-it's so heavy *pant *pant" Izumi finally said as she collapsed on the sand. Ropes spreading across her body as her arms went limp from exhaustion. Kaguya went over to her and knelt. Poking at the girl as if seeing if she was okay.

"You're out already? I thought you wanted to prove yourself?" All Might teased. Izumi then pried herself off the sand and sat up. Kaguya then offered a water bottle, to which she took and thanked her. The woman simply nodded slightly and returned to her post. Izumi then turned to All Might who was still grinning at her.

"I do want to prove myself and I still will! It's just… isn't it a bit harder for me to start like this? The fridge itself is heavy enough but another six hundred pounds on top of it isn't helping." Izumi said to the man as he laughed a bit to her plight.

"Funny you said that, I've actually lost weight these days. Down to 560 last I checked. Isn't that right Ms. Kaguya?" the woman simply nodded again in response.

"HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT?" Izumi protested.

"Well if it means anything, I'm lighter… in this form at least." All Might responded as he laughed lightly again. Izumi with a brow raised at the answer, she then drank a bit of the water given to her and splashed some of it on her face. Refreshing her partially as her breath was coming back to her.

"All Might… I thought you said you were going to train me? Why'd you bring me here to drag all this trash away anyway?" Izumi asked as she looked around, mountains upon mountains of trash and unused objects were everywhere. Izumi wasn't there when the beach was first used like this, but she figured with the nearing sunset by the horizon that the place might have been beautiful once.

Expecting an answer from him as she turned her attention back, she was then met with the scene of All Might taking pictures of her with his phone. Wet in both water and sweat, dirtied up, sand everywhere, and her hair messy. Izumi's eyes widened at him.

"ALL MIGHT! What the hell are you doing?!" Izumi screeched as she miraculously stood up despite her exhaustion, as if she wasn't exhausted in the first place at all. She tried jumping at him to try and get his phone only for him to raise his arm higher, All Might being tall in his buffed form stopped her advances.

"Ha Ha Ha! Take a look at yourself, you're not ready for my power." Immediately Izumi stopped as she heard those words. Kaguya looked at the both of them, the words themselves clearly striking a nerve on the crimson haired girl.

"B-But you said I was worthy? A-Are you t-taking back what you said to me yesterday?" Izumi said, close to tears. All Might then giggled as he stood up from the fridge and walked up to her, ruffling her hair to try and cheer her up. Izumi stared at him while doing so.

"I would never take back those words Young Midoriya… but I still mean what I said."

"Huh?" Izumi said as she tilted her head sideward in confusion, sadness evaporating completely now replaced by a questioning disposition. All Might then turned to his assistant and showed the pictures of Izumi (embarrassingly slumped on the sand) for the both of them to see.

"Ms. Kaguya I need you to be brutally honest… what do you see with our young trainee here?"

The woman's ears straightened and eyed the pictures carefully.

"She's wet…" she said simply.

"Uh-huh… go on." All Might encouraged.

"She's easily gotten exhausted, causing her to lose all her strength on that one action."

"And?"

"All in all sir, I think her body is weak."

"CORRECT! Now do you get what I'm trying to say here?" All Might asked Izumi, who was unsure if she was to be offended, hurt or displeased with what Ms. Kaguya said about her. However, she immediately began to wonder what was the real meaning behind it. With that, she started muttering to herself, overanalyzing what All Might's words were.

Both All Might and Kaguya on the other hand had wide-eyed looks as they started seeing the girl mutter to her full extent in front of them. Kaguya then whispered to her boss.

"You didn't tell me she was like this sir."

"I know… amazing isn't it?"

"I think it's odd but interesting at the same time." All Might then waved his hand in front of Izumi to stop her from her muttering onslaught. He had to admit, the girl could be intense and serious with her thoughts specifically. A trait that both amazed and weirded him out with the peculiar display.

"S-Sorry… but I think I get it now. Does this have to do with your quirk?" Izumi said after stopping herself from continuing with her muttering. All Might then grinned widely again at her deduction.

"You got it kid! You see my quirk 'One for All' is a whole lot to handle, the combined physical abilities of everyone that has ever used this quirk creates a hurricane of pure force. An unprepared body which we pointed out like yours earlier can't fully inherit it in your current state." He explained as Izumi stood up and put a finger on her chin while thinking about it. She would write it down and question All Might about it later. A question remained within his explanation though…

"What would happen if per say I used it with my current state?" Izumi asked.

"Simple. Your arms and legs will shoot off if you tried to!" All Might said with a cheerful demeanor. As if it was something to laugh at. Izumi simply stared with a shocked expression etched on her face.

"C-Come again?" she mumbled.

"I think that came out worse than what you expected sir." Kaguya remarked.

"Nonsense… I'm laying it down easy for her."

"No you're not." Kaguya whispered to herself as Izumi finally registered what was said to her.

"Now back to topic, do you see now why you're here?" All Might asked the girl.

"R-Right, so what you're saying with the state I am now your quirk… can potentially kill me?" Izumi asked in worry. All Might then smiled encouragingly at her.

"Don't worry. That's why we're here in the first place, me and Ms. Kaguya will help you so that outcome won't happen." Izumi then slightly curved the edge of her lips on those words.

"S-So let me get this straight. T-This whole trash thing… it's a hardcore gym workout, so that you can get me ready for your quirk? And you two are the ones that are going to train me?" Izumi asked.

"You got it!" All Might said to her as Kaguya nodded at the same time. All Might then proceeded to walk back to the trashed appliance he sat on earlier.

"There's another reason too Young Midoriya, I did a little research and I heard that back in the day this whole beach here used to be beautiful…" He said as he knocked on the doors of the refridgerator, bending slightly with the strength and impact of his fist. Izumi then walked closer towards him by his side.

"That's right, because of the ocean currents anything that's dropped in the water ends up here. After that people took advantage of it and started illegally dumping this place with their trash. Nowadays not even the locals nor the local municipal government care enough to clean this place. It's just left as a dump for everyone to throw their trash around." Izumi said as he recalled the news she read about this beach in school. Hell, not even the school cared enough to look at this place and do something about it.

"You're exactly on point Young Midoriya. Which leaves me with the last reason why I chose for us to train you here in this place." All Might then put his hand on top of the trashed appliance and started to easily flatten the object like it was something akin to a soda can.

"Heroes these days are nothing but showing off and catching flashy villains. Things were different back when there were no quirks. Services were what mattered and back then heroes would also help the community even though it was kind of boring." A light shockwave was felt when the entire thing was flattened underneath All Might's hands while he talked. Behind him, the setting horizon was seen.

"With all of that said Young Midoriya, as a service to this community I want you to restore the whole coastline in this section of the beach… That's your first step in your path to being a hero." All Might finished as he finally disposed of the once large appliance with his bare hands. Izumi however was trying to contemplate his words. She looked around the whole beach and his words did have merit in them. It wasn't much in terms of hero work, but it was still part of it nonetheless.

But… looking around with the tall heaps of trash everywhere made her feel uneasy and it was only this section of the beach. If this much was in this section, she tried to fathom how much trash was in the entire beach in itself.

"A-All of this? B-But… isn't that impossible?" Izumi asked with a small gulp. All Might put a hand on his hip and looked at the girl. He understood her nervousness, but he needed to push her to the best of her ability if she was to be his successor. Before he could reply to her question however, they were both interrupted when Kaguya came with a tray that contained medium-sized sandwiches on two small plates. Her bunny ears were drooping slightly as her almost emotionless face came to view.

"Would you like a snack young miss?" Kaguya asked as she offered Izumi. Izumi then gingerly took one of the sandwiches into her hand.

"S-Sure…"

"Here, have this handkerchief as well to clean yourself after eating." She again offered with the white piece of cloth she took from her suit's pockets. All Might then reached out for the other sandwich only for Kaguya to take it and took a bite out of it as well. Izumi almost choked with her sandwich after seeing it.

"Hey… I thought that was mine." All Might said.

"You didn't order me to make a sandwich and I was hungry." Remarked at him.

"Then why did you not prepare me a sandwich regardless?" All Might protested.

"You told me you were regulating your food intake sir. So I didn't bother to." All Might then face palmed himself, acknowledging what the doctors advised for his diet. Kaguya then walked away, Izumi almost feeling a playful smirk gracing the deadpan face the woman had as she went back to the table she set. All Might then sighed and returned his attention back to the girl.

"Young Midoriya…"

"Y-Yes?" Izumi said as she wiped her lips with the handkerchief after finishing the sandwich.

"You want to go U.A. right?" All Might asked and immediately Izumi's thoughts went to one of her dreams as a little child. Of her studying at her dream school, the same school itself where her hero originated from and the same school where her Aunt was teaching currently. Even though her mother would scold her and try to stop her from even remotely thinking of going there, she would still keep with her dream to study there someday. Hoping to whoever was up above to grant her wish, not only to graduate in that school but to be a full-fledged hero like All Might was.

"Of course! You went there, right All Might? It's always been a dream of mine to study there someday and it's also the best hero school there is… I know it's a longshot but I want to shoot for the moon with that dream. Whatever it takes for me to achieve it, I'll do it." Izumi said with a smile as she determinedly clenched her fist. All Might gleamed in joy with her determination.

"That's a lot of spirit my dear! However, as I said before heroing isn't something easy to do, especially with you who just discovered your own quirk. It's going to be tougher on you since you're late to the party with your powers and U.A. is the toughest out there is when it comes to schools. So that means…" Izumi perked up to finish his sentence.

"… I have to fully master and train my body for your quirk faster and tougher than normal, as well as trying to understand and master my own quirk alongside it. U.A.'s entrance exam is also in ten months… it's not that I don't believe in your training or with my own strength All Might, but is that even possible?"

"Don't worry kid! I've got you right on track in helping you with this. Behold! The Aim to Pass American Dream Plan!" All Might said out aloud dramatically as he motioned for Kaguya to hand him pieces of paper that had schedules and time stamps on it. He then offered them to her as she read them in her hands. She shuffled them continuously until she got the idea of what they were.

"Follow this plan to the letter and you'll be able to clean this beach in no time! I also put in detail with the other aspects of your life while we're at it." All Might said as he loomed over Izumi who was amazed that he had made schedules of exactly what she needed to do while trained under his tutelage.

"Even my sleep time is fixed here huh?" Izumi remarked, All Might then leaned to her to whisper in her ear.

"If I'm going to be honest here Young Midoriya, this will be super hard. Do you think you're up to it?" he said and Izumi then perked up, her eagerness to prove herself returning.

"Sure I am… I have to work harder than anyone else to prove myself worthy of your faith in me All Might. I just have to." Izumi said with that smile that Toshinori liked seeing in her. He smirked as well with Kaguya doing a thumbs up.

"All right before we continue with the beach, I wanted to ask what you've gathered in regards to your quirk. We need to learn about it after all if we're going to determine how One for All Affects it for you." Izumi then turned to him, to be honest she forgot about that thought in the whole time she spent with him in this beach.

"Oh… about that. I haven't really gathered much info about it." All Might raised his brow at her in a questioning look.

"Not that I didn't try, my quirk is just… strange in a sense. I know only a few things about it but I don't know what it's entirely capable of. Yet." Izumi remarked to him. All Might then crossed his arms and thought about what to do.

"What _do_ you know about your quirk Young Midoriya?"

"Well…" Izumi explained to All Might and Kaguya what she learned last night. Specifically taking out some of the notes she made while testing out her abilities. She explained how strong the voltage of her electricity was and that she could manage to short circuit some devices but not entirely destroy them. She also explained this strange 'vision' sense that she got from her quirk when her eyes glow in red. The latter part made both adults to think about it carefully, as a quirk that could potentially detect what other quirks were was a very useful advantage against some villains. The possibilities were endless in regards to that feature of her quirk so the both of them began to think about ways in order to master that aspect of the girl's powers. The energy she gave out however puzzled them, because if it was only strong enough to discharge energy to only short circuit small devices then it wasn't at all useful. Although, considering the slime villain event, Izumi could master said quirk and have a very strong advantage against some foes. All in all, the small notes she had on her own quirk were substantial for Toshinori to think about for ways her quirk would meld with his. It would give the girl a really strong power set both defensively and offensively speaking.

"I must say this 'sensory vision' as you called it is indeed a useful tool. Lots of pros can benefit with that power of yours." Kaguya said as she started to pack the leftovers and trash they made in their stay. All Might stood next to Izumi still and thought about the implications of her quirk.

"I agree on Ms. Kaguya there Young Midoriya, should you master this aspect of your quirk I can see you to be a very effective hero in the future. With One for All, even more so."

"R-Really? W-well I guess I never thought about that." Izumi said as she began fiddling with her fingers again, she wasn't really used to being praised. The only person that did praise her was her Aunt, and maybe in some way when her mother too when she was in a good mood. All Might placed a hand on her shoulder for encouragement. Izumi smiled faintly at him.

"Trust me girl. With that resolve and heart of yours I could see you to be more than what the hero I am or used to be. That smile alone in my opinion is enough to make any person happy."

"T-Thank you." Izumi said. All Might then took her hands.

"Look, I know you still have your doubts with this whole thing. I'll say this again and again to you; I am not pressuring you on how to be a hero. I want you to discover and cultivate that on your own. Because the moment you took that chance, quirkless or not when you stood bravely in front of danger without hesitation nor fear for your life just to save that boy, I knew then and there that I saw something special. That special thing I saw in you is the one thing that reminded me again what the meaning of true heroism is. So Young Midoriya, whatever you choose in this moment is up to you and whichever choice you make I'll be there for the whole ride. I did promise you I'd be your mentor and that promise goes until the very day I see you up there, with the whole world watching you on with smiles.'

Izumi was speechless on those words. It grabbed her heart entirely. Making her feel so happy that she felt she could do anything. Those words back then were only a dream of hers, now she was in that dream and for the first time in her entire life, the feeling of neglect that she felt every damn day, was gone on that moment. For the first time she could freely smile.

A small tear escaped her left eye, quickly wiped by a tissue taken by Kaguya who somehow snuck behind her and with a small smile to add to her gratitude. At first she was surprised and baffled at how she did that but she relented and let the moment pass. She thanked the woman and her bunny ears stood up with a hint of a small blush on her cheeks. Inwardly, Kaguya liked the girl.

"Now then, before we get back to work on this beach, we still have an hour or two to test out your quirk and its limits and there's no better place to test it. Why don't we start with the energy you dish out Young Midoriya, being the more mysterious part of your quirk I suggest we find where its limits lie." All Might suggested as Izumi nodded and started to prepare herself. Charging herself up as her hair glowed in red and her eyes started to change color into crimson. Charges of red electricity began to spark weakly in her head. Izumi didn't even notice the faint ounce of pain at the back of her head when she charged her quirk. Her enthusiasm blurring her senses completely.

"What should I hit? That old T.V. perhaps? Oh! Maybe that power converted over there." Izumi said with excitement as Kaguya took this as a cue to move herself and the table containing their supplies farther from them. All Might then put both his hands on his waist in a posing position for Izumi.

"While testing it on those things is useful, I suggest we do it on me. We are testing the limits of your quirk and I am the best candidate to tank any shot your quirk can handle."

Izumi instantly opened her eyes wide. He was daring for her to hit him, with as much strength as her quirk could muster.

"All Might… you're serious? What if this is dangerous?" Izumi said cautiously. He waved her off.

"Don't worry about me Young Midoriya. Have you forgotten how strong I am? I've taken hits from multiple villains across the years. Some of them strong enough to wound me, disable me, or even cripple me, but that's not the point. I'm still here right? Fighting the battles needed to keep everyone safe. I'll be fine." He assured her with that large iconic smile of his. Izumi was impressed actually, even with his condition now that was revealed to her yesterday she was still impressed immensely that he still stood his ground.

"All right… so should I really dish out the strongest voltage I can?" Izumi asked as her crimson hair now crackled moderately with more of that volatile energy. She concentrated to make the same burst she made to the slime villain. Readying herself to hit him with everything she got.

"Like I said, I can take it. Now let's see how strong that quirk of yours is." All Might taunted and Izumi then in a fraction of a second charged up to her limits as more red energy webbed around her like the center of a storm cloud. The ground around her hit by the electricity vaporized some of the sand particles that got struck. Kaguya cautiously moved herself a few meters away to be in safe distance. Unfortunately, once she zoomed her vision on the girl, she saw a frown and face full of discomfort with what she was trying to do.

Something was wrong.

"Young Midoriya is everything alri-"

**THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!" Izumi screamed as a violent torrent of red energy was being lashed out from her and into the Symbol of Peace. Large amounts of red streaks of lightning was being discharge out from her. Not only hitting All Might but almost everything near her. The television and power converter she pointed out earlier was being overcharged so much that both items were now live with high voltages of dangerous electricity.

Kaguya tried to shield her eyes from the onslaught as it seemed like a small storm of high density lightning was in the middle of Dagobah Beach. She was far enough for the streaks to not hit her but what made her eyes purely centered in shock was All Might who seemed to be struggling with the blasts being shot at him.

"SIR!" she shouted as she tried to come to his aid. As she neared some of the smaller torrents had hit her and she felt a sharp pain in her head as if something had overloaded it.

"Kaguya! Step back, i-it's too dangerous!" All Might warned as he tried blocking the charges of electricity with his arms. Kaguya got worried suddenly when a small droplet of blood had appeared on the side of his lips.

"Sir!"

"I said step back! Young Midoriya! You can stop now! It's getting dangerous for everyone around here. You could hurt someone!" All Might said.

Izumi on the other hand was clutching her head as that pain that lingered earlier had now progressed into the forefront of her head. This was different than last time. Because the last time she seemingly had control of how much she used against the villain. Now, her quirk was violently lashing out at everything around her, and the worst part was… it didn't seem to stop even with how much she willed it to. As seconds passed, she felt weaker and weaker as more energy was being discharged.

"All Might… I-I can't stop it! I-I don't know how. I-It hurts…" Izumi cried out as her legs were getting weaker. All Might's eyes widened in fear after she said as the energy grew stronger and stronger as seconds passed.

What made him scared however was not how the lightning struck him. It didn't hurt that much in the slightest. What did make him surprised was the fact that he was now on the edge of the ropes trying to maintain 'One for All' to keep him in his powered form. Her quirk was strong enough to override his control on 'One for All' and he was trying desperately to will himself to stay. As something told him that if he was in his normal state something bad would happen. He gritted his teeth as more of it struck him.

The stronger the lightning got, the harder it seemed to focus. A gnashing feeling behind his head was starting to manifest too and he needed to end this now. Or else…

"Young Midoriya! You need to focus. G-Get yourself together! You can control this. This is your quirk. It's part of you. Will yourself to take control!" he shouted as Izumi looked on in worry.

"I-I'm trying…" she cried out, the pain started to become unbearable and she was now kneeling on the sand. Suddenly, some arcs of lightning had hit the remains of a rusty car atop the pile of trash behind Izumi and it was going to fall on top of her. Kaguya's eyes widened as the car then lost the last grips it had with where it stood and was about to crush the little girl below. All Might noticed it at the last second as he reached out with his other hand to try and punch the air to hit the car behind her...

Only for the car to be intercepted midway by a powerful metal-breaking kick made by none other than Kaguya herself who leapt just in time to save her.

**CRASH! **

The car crashed violently on the pile of trash next to Izumi and suddenly the little girl's energy disappeared in an instant. The last arcs of lightning left her body as All Might absorbed it. He took no damage from the girl but he was still surprised with what that energy did to him. He looked at both his hands as Kaguya rushed to Izumi's side who weakened significantly after that little show. She took off the jacket of her suit and placed it on where Izumi should sit comfortable as she held her.

All Might then went towards the both of them. Seeing that Izumi was breathing heavily. Like the wind was knocked out of her.

"Young Midoriya are you alright?" he said.

"I-I'm fine…" Izumi said weakly. Kaguya then put a hand on her forehead while she supported her.

"Sir… she's burning up." Kaguya warned. All Might then took out his phone and gave it to Kaguya as he took over to support her. The girl then started to cough.

"Call her Aunt, tell her what happened." he said as he tried to relieve Izumi as she coughed, which was getting intense with each belch. Kaguya started to dial on the phone while a stream of blood had ran down profusely from Izumi's nose. All Might panicked internally as the girl kept coughing, with a bloodied nose and now blood droplets were coming out from each violent cough.

"Young Midoriya hang on. Kaguya call an ambulance as well!"

"R-Right on it sir-"

"HUUUUUUAAARGGGGGGG!" Izumi bellowed as she got out of All Might's grip and vomited a large amount of blood that continued to stream from her mouth. The volume was starting to turn into a large puddle as the panic and fear gripped both adults who watched on in horror.

"We need to get her out here now." He said as he picked up the girl into his arms with Kaguya close by who had just managed to get to Nemuri's call.

"S-Sir… she wants to know what happened…" Kaguya shakily said as All Might tried desperately to rush her out. She was now vomiting violently in his arms. Large amounts of vomit, bile, and blood was now staining his clothes but he didn't care.

The girl was what mattered. If he knew this was going to happen he may not have encouraged her to try. This only fueled the suspicion and fear he had for the little girl's quirk and why Nemuri seemed to be transfixed on him trying his best to protect her. He started to question what was with this girl's life. There were secrets hidden from him and he needed to know.

For now, the girl's health was what mattered.

"A-All Might… s-sorry for the mess." Izumi said weakly as she now began to be stable, yet her body was so weak she was in a daze. A bloody strand of drool was hanging on the edge of her lips. Even on worst days, Toshinori never experienced this type of pain with his condition. Izumi's vison was blurring, seeing All Might and Kaguya rushing to help her while she was on his arms.

"Hang on kid, everything's going to be okay…"

At least he hoped it did.

* * *

Inko was in shambles. The past half hour that she used to read all the files regarding Izumi's… _condition _took a toll on her. She covered both her eyes in anxiety, fear, and sadness for her daughter. The amount of information she got from the file alone made her feel the weight of her responsibility to significantly double… and grown heavily than what she initially thought it was.

What she was truly capable of…

And what the toll of her capabilities had on her weak and frail body made her edge into crying. She could not believe how deep and utterly horrifying Izumi's quirk was. If it was even a quirk to begin with it all. It was an abomination, a monstrosity that hid itself inside of the little girl, and the worst part was…

It was all natural. It was never artificial. It was never forced on her. She was not an experiment. She literally had that quirk the moment she was born from unknown parents and people. Of all the circumstances that had to fall on everyone, the one little girl who was the most kindest, weakest, lovable, and optimistic person Inko had ever encountered in life was subject to that fate.

Subject to the horrors she contained within her.

The Aldera Incident was only a mere fraction of what she was capable of. Even if she did understand and learn about her powers. The toll it had on her own body was extensive and from what the file says at times… was permanent in some cases.

Truly… the designated nickname for her quirk was horrifyingly befitting.

_'Agony's Embrace' _suddenly took a new meaning in her mind.

"Have you now decided correctly on what to do with her Inko?" Juno asked, the entire room was laid in silence. The other occupants still remained but they were quiet as well. The only sound was the fountain's water streaming down for them to all hear.

Inko then looked at Juno. She offered something to her earlier as she read the files. She was almost fearful that she was convinced with what this woman was offering.

"Even if I did accept… I wouldn't still agree to your methods. You told me you're a collector. You collect people and their quirks that you deem interesting or intriguing, that's what you said to me right?"

"Correct."

"Then that man you were dissecting earlier; I assume he had a healing quirk."

"Yes. He had a very fast regeneration ability, I was testing its limits."

Inko then narrowed her eyes. The thought about Izumi… no, she wouldn't think that.

"I don't want my child to suffer under your hands. I will not let that happen. Until the end of my very existence, I will not allow that kind of suffering to fall on Izumi." Inko adamantly said to them, which Juno found amusing.

"Even if my care is the best chance of her not being harmed… or being exposed to everyone? You do know I am the safest bet. Think about it Inko, if you went to the heroes, what good will it muster? You told me you fear the day society finds out about her, that she would be experimented on, to be looked down upon as a monster… with me she won't ever experience that at all…"

"There is no difference. You showed me enough in this hellhole of a place of yours that you are not capable of raising nor caring for her. She doesn't need to forced into this. I don't want her. I just want what's best for her and if it takes that I take help from the heroes then fine… I'll do it."

"If you do… and they find out how she killed thousands of people on that night. That night I remind you which is one of the most notable tragedies in the recent history of Quirk society that ended the lives of beloved family members, people, and heroes. What if they do find out? Would you trust them not to fear? Would you trust the governments of the world to not lock her up? Would you trust the public to even remotely care for her after word comes out that she was the one responsible for all that damage and lives taken? No, they would rip her apart Inko. Even if the heroes would protect her, what good does it give her? She will have to live a life full of hate flung towards her, even if she wasn't even conscious to begin with when she committed those crimes."

Inko tried to rebuke. She had nothing. She was fully aware of the risk. She thought about it the moment she and Nemuri met again after that night.

"That girl will be labeled as a menace to society and if the heroes protect her… she would be doomed to a fate where these heroes will be put in the public's scrutiny. Trust for them globally will be questioned. Think about it… a war criminal is not being put behind bars despite evidence that she did commit it. No amount of saving lives on her part will erase that trauma, no amount of forgiveness will be given to truly save her from that. She will not only destroy the reputation of herself further, but also the trust on heroes in our society."

"I… I know." Inko said as she thought about it. This was the main reason why try as she may (even if it hurt her) why she scolded and tried to stop Izumi from trying to be a hero in the first place. Even it crushed her dream. Even if Inko suffered seeing that saddened face. This was the main fear she had if ever she intended to pursue that dream.

"Then again there is also another outcome. With all the suffering and hate she would receive, it could make her a villain… to think how dangerous she could be if she would walk that path is seriously… _astounding _and scary. Even I'm a bit disturbed if she did go that way. Ha… look at that girls the day did come that I admit I was scared." The last sentence was meant for the other women on the room of whom both smiled and laughed lightly at her attempt at a joke.

"But… thinking of it now, would she even go that far? The toll her quirk has on her body would kill her earlier than expected. Especially that stunt she made that took the news recently. I'm afraid abusing herself like that will result in her dying in no time. That narrows down your options doesn't it?" Juno taunted. Inko looked at her, both in terms of anger and frustration. Her words were still true.

"I don't want her to be with you." Inko reiterated.

"Why is that? And before you answer… I want to ask why do you care for this child? She isn't your daughter, far from it. You only took her in and that's confusing me."

"Why the fuck does it confuse you?"

"You are a very notorious and quite notable villain in the old days _Jade. _You had no care for all the victims you kill. Your body count alone exceeded a notable excess of at least six hundred or more. While there are no children in that list… your collateral damage speaks for itself and never once did you care if an innocent child or person was hurt. Call me suspicious but there is a small detail here that makes me really question why you really care for your… Izumi as you call her. When you yourself have never shown any compassion to anyone in your day."

Looking back at that night, Inko did remember herself not caring at all for the girl. She only saw her as paycheck, nothing more. But when she woke up after the massacre, a small memory of her own past came back to her and it spoke volumes as to why she kept Izumi…

And why she did everything she can to make sure she wouldn't end up like her.

_"You killed them… y-you're a monster…" _a voice from that past moment of herself said on that night she took Izumi. After that, she vowed to save her, trying to stop her past from repeating with hers. That small moment that forced her again to care. To make sure this girl would never end up like her.

To never end up being blamed for a mistake she didn't do…

Like her.

Inko strengthened her resolve again and looked intensely at Juno. Who was waiting for her reply.

"I won't answer that question. Izumi is my daughter and no matter what happens with her. I'll do the very best of my ability to be there for her. Even if she isn't my daughter by blood. _I am her mother_."

Juno contemplated what to say next.

"Are you sure you are willing to go with this? Whichever way you look Inko, you know I am the sanest choice. No one out there has the best chance of protecting her and helping her to contain that power of hers. I told you already even if my methods are… a bit extreme at times, you can see that the occupants in this room are doing really well and their quirks are in check. I did that. I helped them and I can with her too."

"No." Inko said quickly.

Juno sighed.

"You're stubborn. I'll give you that."

"It works… especially on assholes like you." Inko said with venom in her tone.

"Come now, must we say bad things to each other? I'm a woman of my word. I intend to end this discussion with the best intentions for both of us."

"I don't see it that way." Inko said as the air in the room grew colder. Every gaze was on her. Like a zebra being cornered by a pride of lions.

"You are not at all concerned that should you deny my request to add her into my care, her life will be in peril?"

"Yes. If it means I get to stay her away from people like you then I'll gladly do it."

Juno then sighed deeply again. Nemain next to her looked tense.

"It is your choice then." Juno said to Inko with a very vague tone.

"What do-AGH!"

**KRA-THOOM!**

Inko impacted violently and crashed to the furthest wall from where the table was. The hit she took was so strong that the closest thing she felt in her life that came like that was near All Might's strength when he was not in focus. It was that strong. She shakily tried to stand her ground from the crater as she wiped the blood that trickled from her lips with her arm. An angry look on her face when she saw that the one who hit her was the queer and monocle wearing woman, Nemain herself who didn't even seem to put much effort in that one punch.

"Y-You're trying to kill me now? I thought you were a woman of your word." Inko angrily said as the other women then stood up, eyeing her carefully. Ready to strike.

"I am still. But If you're going to convince me that you are capable of handling that responsibility with that child of yours… then I'll gladly let you keep her."

"_You bitch_. I'm going to fucking kill you and all your stupid villain-wannabes!" Inko shouted in anger at all of them. She then focused her mind to pop the major blood veins in all of the heads of each occupant in the room.

A moment passed and nothing happened. She then reached her hand out to try again. Nothing.

"I asked you to prove yourself Inko. The only thing to convince me that you are ready is to take away your major strength that made you deadly. Why do you think I situated us to talk in this room? You were the one that said every plan needed an insurance. This, is one of mine."

"YOU BASTARD!" she said as her quirk was non-existent.

"This room has telekinetic dampeners. Making your power inert to a very weak state. I do know you still have that limited pyrokinesis of yours but what good will that do to my disciples?"

"I'll show you… and I'll kill every one of them. Especially you."

Juno huffed.

"You need to prove yourself Inko Midoriya that you are ready to take that responsibility of that child's well-being. If you should succeed in defeating my disciples and getting to me, I will give you my word I will not touch that girl nor you again in the future. I just need assurance that you know what you're doing and if you're strong enough to achieve it."

"What in the hell will that prove if I did succeed? I don't believe a lick of sense that you're going to leave her alone."

"Oh I assure you… I will. What you should be afraid of is not me. Because I am not the only one who knows about the contents of this file and those people are out there trying to find her."

Juno flashed again the hologram containing Izumi. Inko then started to fill in the dots at what she was trying to say to her. It only made her anguish and fear to settle into new levels of horror.

"It's no longer safe for her… now that the secret is out. So I ask you one more time, being the safest bet for your daughter, will you give her to me?"

END OF CHAPTER 4

* * *

**AN: Like always leave a review and follow if possible... I'm quite excited for the next few chapters, as we're getting closer to end of this original Arc I have planned and this also gets us closer to the Entrance Exam. Yay. Oh, and like I said I intend to reveal Izumi's quirk to you guys... slowly, which is why I never fully revealed as to what it is actually here. To poor Inko however, she now knows what it is and she would have to decide what her next move is with that knowledge intact. **

** NEXT CHAPTER: DayBreak - Jade fights a narrow battle for Izumi's future, afterwards she finally starts her trip home with the game-changing secret to Izumi's quirk in tow. Nemuri and All Might begin to discuss about Izumi's quirk as secrets are starting to be uncovered. Meanwhile, Izumi goes to school with her two new friends distraught and worried for her condition as the Aldera Memorial Day celebration begins...**


	6. V Daybreak

**AN: I'm back again guys! Thanks again if you're reading ****still ****so far and I hope you like what I have in store for the coming days. This is a smaller chapter I made to give a bit of breathing room and development with some of the characters. A much needed slice of life situation was needed to before we jump back to the madness of the plot. It's a lot longer than I wanted it to but I guess I just got a bit overjoyed with some of the fun character interactions here. That's all from me for now so enjoy the chapter...**

* * *

V. Daybreak

18:06 Hours, Aldera General Hospital…

Toshinori was in his normal form while waiting in the lobby of one of the main wards. His secretary slash assistant was taking care of the hospital bills while doing so. After that utter disaster that was their first day of training, he was more determined to correct his mistakes in regards to the young girl. It was in fact his fault in the first place for her to use the best she can with her quirk. He failed to realize that the girl had just found out of her quirk yesterday and she had no control whatsoever with that strange and powerful ability. The same strange and powerful ability that seemed to have canceled out the Slime Villain's quirk. The same ability that nearly forced him out of his powered form.

Nearly forced him out.

He had been thinking of that one thing for hours now. It disturbed him, that aspect of her quirk was in no way to be considered a minor thing to think lowly about. The mere fact that she almost forced him out in his buffed form circled around his mind for the last hour and a half.

In his whole life as a hero, even in his prime there was no quirk that was able to even get close to doing that. Not even the foe that crippled him to what he is now had no such quirk in his arsenal to do such a thing. He can force out quirks, but as far as he could remember that was where his quirk manipulation powers end.

Young Midoriya's quirk… was really strange.

She had told him how far she understood that ability, from her vision sensor that seemed to detect and 'see' quirks as well as that red energy that according to her had the ability to short circuit certain small devices. That red energy was also the same thing that nearly forced him out on his control on 'One for All'. 'One for All' was a very powerful and strong quirk, cultivated through generations of users up to him now. It was no push-over that was easy to topple. Heck, even that foe he faced that crippled him was defeated at the end of their fight. That same man had not done anything remotely close to remove, disrupt, or even affect 'One for All' at the slightest.

Hers did.

Toshinori started to question things in his head regarding the girl. Was it really true that she only discovered this quirk? There were reports of quirks being late to manifest, but it was still close to a very young age. Nine to ten years old was the number he recalled. Izumi was fourteen. Making her far older than any of those numbers.

His control over his quirk was definitely adequate to considerable. Nana, her master did not finish training him after her tragic death in the hands of a villain. Meaning he had not mastered the entirety of 'One for All', only mastering it to the extent of where his knowledge lay. He knew Nana was supposed to teach him more, but that all disappeared after her untimely death. Now, even with his understanding and mastery of it, he still could not believe that Izumi was a hair-length's worth of stopping his control on 'One for All'. True to form he did not take any damage; it didn't even hurt that much. Yet it still bothered him that the girl had that ability, even the Erasure Hero 'Eraserhead' admitted that there was something with 'One for All' that strained his ability to erase it temporarily. So for this young girl to do the same with no mastery on her own quirk as well as straining him significantly from staying in his own powered form took a lot of mental thought for himself to try and comprehend.

Izumi didn't seem to be the type to lie in with these types of things. She was really, really happy to discover about her quirk and with her story about her being quirkless, he knew that she told the truth wholeheartedly. She even felt devastated when he told her about being realistic with her situation.

He had to ask her origin. He also noticed that he had not asked the girl about her history, about her parents and their quirks. He knew only one thing, and that her guardian was her aunt. The Pro Hero Midnight who also taught as a teacher in U.A. and that was it. That was as far as he knew about her. Midnight's powers were unlike anything that the girl had. So it gave him a lot to consider and ask about. Luckily after that little accident a few hours ago, Midnight had arrived quickly as she can along with a doctor who took over the hospital's treatment on young Izumi. They had not come back since, Toshinori kept on waiting in the lobby for any news about Izumi.

"*sigh… What have I brought myself into?" he asked himself as he heard footsteps on the hallway. Turning his head he saw Nemuri Kayama, also known as Midnight in her civilian attire. Which consisted a black jacket over a shapely dark blue shirt and black slacks. She had a weary face on her as well as a stressful demeanor. She walked along the hallway, not noticing All Might as she went to the closest coffee machine to get herself a drink.

All Might could feel the worry and concern in her. He pitied and understood why. For the short time he saw Izumi with Nemuri, she almost seemed like the surrogate mother of the kid. In fact, she seemed to be closer to the woman than anyone. Like she was the real mother to her.

Giving himself as much initiative as he can, he stood up and stood next to the woman. Trying his best to be quiet. Nemuri's face twitched somewhat, noticing his presence. She didn't look at him but he tried to speak.

"How is she?"

The sound of the cup being filled by coffee was heard. Hospital staff left and right have come and went around them before Nemuri spoke anything at all. She took the cup as he waited.

"She's fine. She's actually a bit cheerful right now. Too cheerful. Like nothing at all happened to her. She'll be cleared in the next fifteen minutes. Dr. Shigechi is just making last minute check-ups."

"What happened to her?" All Might asked and Nemuri then looked at her.

"I just need to know. I was there and I feel responsible for her condition as it is now. I didn't mean to push her over to her limit. I was only trying to train her with her own quirk." He continued. Nemuri sipped her coffee and tried to think what to say to him about Izumi's condition. Clearly the woman was trying to hide something.

"All Might can I ask you something before I answer your question?" Nemuri asked him, with a look that tried to question why Izumi was a part of it all.

"Go ahead."

"Why her? Why did you choose her?"

Toshinori averted her gaze and tried to think best how to answer that.

"It wasn't easy actually. I had doubts myself. I still do… but there's just something about that girl Midnight. Something special that I see that I haven't really seen in other heroes for a long time. She renewed my faith in the next generation of heroes and with that smile on hers, I believe she can surpass me someday."

Nemuri opened her mouth a bit to his statement. Her blue eyes and beautiful face were transfixed at that declaration as she saw the same in Izumi. Especially when the girl would tell her about her dream back in the day.

"Does that answer your question?"

"It does… but she isn't the only one that has that same dream and resolve."

All Might sighed in a reluctant manner and turned to sit back on the benches. Nemuri watched as her statement was in itself implied a different meaning. About a deal he had with the principal of U.A. and his former sidekick, Nighteye.

"Do you think I don't know that? I do. I've seen them. I know that they do think the same way but Young Midoriya… she's just different. I don't know how to explain it but I see something in her that reminds me again why I chose to be the Symbol of Peace, why I chose to be a hero in the first place."

_"I have no friends… only my family with me. My mother and Aunt. It's not that I don't love them, but they don't seem to believe in my dream. I just want to prove them wrong. That I can be something like you. Someone who can save people's lives with a smile on their face. No matter what happens, no matter the crisis, and no matter how dark things are. I just want to be there for them someday where they'll feel hope in my presence. That's my dream All Might sir…"_

All Might smiled after recalling that memory. He then looked at Midnight who still looked at him.

"Young Midoriya was almost like me back in the day believe it or not. Naïve and quite stupid, but like her we both have that unreachable dream. Even now with my presence the world isn't perfect but at the very least I can do something about it to change the way things are. Even for a bit. I believe she can do it as well; she doesn't have to be the number one hero like me. She could be anything for all I care Midnight, but to me she's worth it."

Midnight then mustered a small accepting smile and walked over to sit next to him. She cradled the coffee cup in her hands. The steam fuming out slowly into the air.

"Why did you ask me? Do you doubt my choice or are you just worried for your niece?"

Nemuri turned her head to meet his.

"I don't doubt you All Might. I actually consider you a far better judge in terms of morality compared to me. I don't doubt what you see in Izumi at all."

"Then what's bugging you?" All Might then saw Nemuri fidget her fingers on the rim of her cup.

"I'm just worried for her. All my life, I've never ever felt what it was like to have a kid. I'm still not ready to settle down if that means anything…" Nemuri said with a small laugh. Toshinori continued to listen.

"Until I met Izumi… and something just changed about me. I've started to be a bit more responsible. A bit more caring and different than what I usually do, I'm still the same R-Rated hero Midnight but I have more of a reason now to do what I do. I just changed, I can't really say or know why but I do know it was because of her…"

"She means that much to you huh?"

Nemuri smiled happily.

"She does. To be honest with you All Might, I feel very happy that I was there in her life. Raising her is probably one of the best things I've done in my entire existence. Both as a hero and as a person. I love Izumi like she's… like she's my own child."

All Might gave a look of encouragement to which Nemuri felt better with.

"If Young Midoriya is the person I see her now, then I have that to thank you with. You raised her well Midnight, and I'm happy that you were part of the reason as to who she is now."

"You're welcome." Nemuri replied as she sipped her coffee.

"Now… if you'll allow me to. Can you answer my question this time?"

Mdinight changed instantly into a frown.

"With what happened to her right?" Nemuri asked.

"Correct."

"I really don't think it's my responsibility to say that to you All Might." Nemuri replied back with a sudden change of tone that was far different with their initial interaction. Because of this it added more fuel to the fire with his suspicion regarding about the young girl's quirk.

"Why is it not?" he asked, firmer this time.

"I'm sorry… I can't answer that question. But I will say that everything that happened with her during your training is because of overuse with her quirk."

"She didn't do that yesterday. It's not normal for a girl like that to lose that much blood from just overusing her quirk. I've seen how taxing some quirks are but that was excessive than most."

"What do you want me to tell you? That she's alright? If there's anything wrong with her? If there's permanent damage? She's fine and she will be fine after she leaves this hospital."

"That's not what I'm trying to ask damn it! I want to know what's with her quirk! Because there is nothing normal with that young girl's quirk at all and based on the protective and limited things you've said to me about her… it makes me feel like you're hiding something from me."

Nemuri looked at how much this had frustrated him. She felt a bit of guilt for not trying to at least say to him on what was going on. But this was not her decision to make. It was Inko's and she wasn't here.

"Look Midnight, I'm not asking for anything personal but being that the kid chose me to train her, allowed me to mentor her, and with your consent she agreed to be my successor. Because of that I feel that I have at least the right to know what is wrong with her because everything that happened today was my responsibility and here she is now. I don't want that to happen again you understand me? I want to know the truth so she won't be hurt the next time this happens again."

True to his words, All Might had a point.

"Alright… I'll say as much as I can in regards to her condition tonight. I can't say anything else because this isn't my choice to make."

"Then who has that responsibility then? Are you even her guardian?"

"Of course I am! Why do you think I hauled my ass here to check on her. I am as much as a mother to her like her real mother All Might."

"So you know her mother. Who is she? Why does Young Midoriya have this quirk?"

"I can't tell you who she is All Might. You have to understand."

"Why are you keeping this much from me? Is something wrong?" All Might asked.

"It's because it is not my position to say all of this information to you. I kept a promise to her mother and I'm keeping it."

All Might sighed in frustration. He couldn't ask her too much. He was already intruding.

"Then can you at least let me meet her. At least let me talk to her mother, because her quirk isn't something I can just forget Midnight. You don't know what happened when she struck that red energy of hers at me."

"W-What happened?" Nemuri asked in worry.

"She almost made me lost my control over 'One for All'. No one has ever done that. Not even the villain that did this to my current condition had been close to toppling my control over my quirk."

Nemuri had a horrified look on her face.

"She did that while not even concentrating or had any control over that power of hers."

"Oh God…" Nemuri said in a low voice. She knew the known extent of Izumi's powers, but to know that it even affected the world's most powerful hero made her concentration to quiver.

"So I'm going to ask you again… what is with that kid Midnight?"

Midnight was now weighing the pros and cons in her mind in regards to telling All Might the truth.

"Alright All Might… I'll agree on trying to make you talk with her mother and I'll see if I can convince her to tell the truth about Izumi's quirk."

"What is with all the secrecy Midnight? Why are you and her mother hiding it so badly?"

Nemuri looked at him with a deepened expression that had so many deeper and vague meanings.

"I wish I could tell you All Might. I really wish I can tell you."

He was about to say something again when they both heard a certain shy and muttering teen walking in the hallways towards them with a small patch on her forehead. She was wearing new clothes right now and one of the doctors that came with Midnight was walking by her side. Nemuri left the chairs with her coffee and went to Izumi.

"Is she cleared already?" Nemuri asked as she checked on Izumi. The doctor nodded.

"Aunt Nemu… can't you see I'm fine. The doctors said I just lost a bit too much blood and that I shouldn't overuse my quirk or it'll happen again."

"I know that sweetie. I'm just really concerned for you. Especially since I warned you not to overuse your quirk earlier today right?"

"Y-Yeah… about that. Sorry Aunt Nemu. I guess I should train a bit more so this doesn't happen right? I'm sure if I master this I won't be puking like some horror character right?" Izumi asked in attempt to make humor only for Nemuri and the doctor to look warily at each other. Toshinori instantly noticed this and figured to ask them more about it later.

"Yes honey… y-you'll probably will." Nemuri said. Izumi then bowed towards All Might after seeing him.

"I'm sorry I cut our first day of training Mr. Toshinori… I'm sorry too for uh, puking on your clothes." All Might smiled a bit to the girl to make her stop apologizing.

"It's alright. We all make mistakes at first. I'm just counting on you to learn from this okay?"

"Sure! Oh Aunt Nemu, c-can I get something to eat? I'm starving a bit." Izumi asked as Nemuri simply smiled and gave her some money to buy on the nearest vending machine. The girl excused herself and left the three adults who were staring at her with concern.

"Nemuri… what we learned there was quire alarming to say the least. I had to convince the hospital staff that this was government business and that they shouldn't say anything without your consent so that it doesn't go public nor should it spread to other people. Having All Might here added credibility to that. Although I think I may need a bit of more leeway to properly keep this situation contained." The doctor said as Nemuri silently thanked All Might whom nodded back understanding what he was trying to ask of him. They then brought their attention back to the doctor.

"Thank you Doctor, what's the situation then?"

"The blood sample we got from her unintentional discharge of blood was very disturbing. Both counts of RBC and WBC numbers show that each individual cell is dead and destroyed. The vomit and bile containing the blood which we had with the samples show that it was discharged because those portions of her blood were now toxic for her own body. We then concluded with evidence given that her quirk… uses her own blood supply to fuel its use."

All eyes drifted to Izumi's position who had the girl who was unaware with her own condition muttering to herself to decide on which snack to buy. Nemuri looked the worst in terms of worry. She was nearing to tear up in regards to the girl's condition. Toshinori placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Where does this lead us doctor?" All Might asked.

"If she continued to overuse her quirk… I'm afraid the next consecutive losses of blood will indefinitely leave permanent damage to her body, even worse is… the likelihood of her dying is pretty high. With the nature of her quirk, I don't think she can survive in the future should she try to overuse again and again."

All Might and Nemuri looked on in horror at this revelation. They then looked back at Izumi who was now feasting on a bag of chips and was walking to them.

"Everything alright? I didn't acquire any disease or some serious thing right?" Izumi innocently asked, her red hair was a bit frizzy but she looked leagues better than a few hours ago when she arrived at the hospital.

"N-No… nothing's wrong dear. We were just worried for you on what happened earlier."

"Sorry again. I shouldn't have forced myself like that." Izumi said as she deflated.

"It's alright Young Midoriya. Just go with the good doctor downstairs with Ms. Kaguya to sort things out. I'm paying for your stay here after all."

"W-Wait… isn't that a bit too much?"

"Don't worry I'm fine since I was helping you after all. I am your mentor and as your mentor I am as concerned for your health as much as your aunt here. So don't worry about it okay?" All Might said with more conviction and seriousness in his voice than before. The girl got it that he was worried, but he seemed a bit more intense than earlier.

"Okay… thanks." Izumi said with an awkward smile as the doctor lead her away. When they left the scene, All Might turned to Nemuri who hadn't spoken after what the doctor said, she didn't even smile at the slightest.

"Midnight-"

"When her mother arrives… I need you to be with us when we talk about her. Things have changed now, and I need your help to try and convince her on something. With that said, I can tell you what I know about Izumi." She said with a shaky voice. He nodded at her statement.

"Understood."

* * *

Two Days Later…

"Izumi! Come to the kitchen honey we're having breakfast." Izumi heard her aunt say from the kitchen. Izumi groaned to herself as her face was still mushed on the pillow. It was Saturday, and after two days of schoolwork and basic training from All Might (which was more on cleaning the beach this time) she was planning to sleep in for today. But like always… which was since Izumi could remember, her aunt and mother had that daily routine where they would always wake her up exactly at 8:30 AM. Being early risers with their jobs and such, they would always try to discipline her into waking up at that hour.

However, being the teenager she was her sleep schedule was more or less broken. Being that she studies and sleeps late regardless if it's for school or just time made for her own activities. These days she was forced a bit to wake up really early, both for school as well as time for training. The entrance exam as well as her studies took the forefront on her list of things to do. All Might's schedule in which he dubbed the 'Aim to Pass American Dream Plan' was something she took really seriously.

Although today, she decided to sleep in as All Might notified her yesterday after training that he was busy for tomorrow. Saying something along the lines that regarded his appearance for the Aldera Memorial Day ceremony. When she knew of that she immediately agreed for their training to start again after the day of the ceremony, both in honor for those lost on that day and for them to take a short break before their sessions commence again. Strangely enough to Izumi, she noticed that her hero actually encouraged her for today to take some serious rest up until the weekend to get her body back in shape after that small mishap a few days ago.

That hospitalization was abrupt and Izumi still felt ashamed for wasting All Might's time and money on her confinement. While she did feel that it was her fault since she did overuse her quirk she still nonetheless felt guilty for worrying her aunt as well as her hero. The mechanics of her quirk seemed a bit extreme for her as well, the doctors said she was fine only losing a moderate portion of her blood. Which also entailed a warning for her not to use her quirk at least until her blood levels go back to normal. Her aunt had to supplement her own blood for her while in the hospital. It did scare her that with all the quirks to be given to her by fate, it seemed she had something that was downright terrifying to have drawbacks with.

However, she wasn't one to be picky. She dreamed of a quirk and she wished for that very day ever since she was little and the time where her doctor said she was quirkless. She was not going to back down even with her quirk's drawbacks. After going home that night she was determined to master it and hone it to the best she could for her to achieve her dream of being a hero.

It also made her extra careful to be wary on the limits of her own power. All Might and Ms. Kaguya told her that her quirk was extremely useful on a lot of situations, given that it could be used extensively in stake-outs, defensive properties, intel gathering, as well as offensively (though both her aunt and All Might warned her strictly not to ever use this part of her quirk until further notice). Which is why she had extensively tried to learn and research about similar quirks that could help her in trying to understand her own. She had learned about a few quirks some heroes have that were close to hers. The American Heroine known as 'Prodigy' had a sensory quirk that allowed her to 'detect' the frequencies of certain quirks in a moderate area around her. It didn't completely work like Izumi's but anything helped. In regards to her energy based ability, since electric quirks were pretty common she took notes of it as well.

She had researched a lot for the last two days and it added a lot more to her preparation and training for the entrance exam.

"Izumi! Breakfast is getting cold. Come down here now." Her aunt said again. Being that Izumi was pretty obedient when it came to her family (even with her mom), she never once disobeyed orders. But she was just too tired today to get herself up.

Unfortunately, she needed to otherwise her aunt would come here and literally drag her out of her bed and carry her forcefully to the kitchen table. Groaning as she sat up from her bed with her crimson locks messy and were all over the place. Her eyes baggy and her line of thought a bit hazy from waking up. The green tips on her hair were also everywhere and she groggily looked at her alarm clock, seeing the time while taking her phone and rubbing her eyes.

"Izumi… I've already told you to come have breakfast with me for three times now." Her aunt said, who was now at her doorway. Her room open for her to see, and based on the expression on her face she was a getting agitated while waiting for her. Izumi smiled a bit at her.

"I-I'm coming."

"Alright, don't you dare go back to sleep the moment I leave young lady. I know you're tired with school and training but a hero has to be punctual. If you're aiming to be at the school I'm teaching at, you need to show some initiative." Nemuri said to her with a finger raised to prove her point. Izumi nodded with a smile as she yawned heavily, trying to relieve some of the drowsiness from her system.

"Okay Aunt Nemu… I'll be there don't worry." she said as Nemuri left the doorway back to the kitchen. Izumi took a deep breath as she looked all over her room. It wasn't as messy as some teenagers her age would have, but it wasn't perfect either. Some of the research notes she had for study last night was everywhere and some of the clothes she had from school were hanged loosely. Luckily her mother which was the stricter of the two people in her life wasn't here, so she was free to be a bit rebellious on her room.

She stood up and headed to the kitchen, with thoughts on what to do today. She hadn't looked into her phone yet but being that she was quite hungry and thirsty, she focused on those first before doing anything else. As she arrived at the table, she noticed that what was on the table was a fastfood burger and some coffee from the outside. Nemuri was eating a salad she bought as Izumi's meal was waiting for her plated on the table. Izumi tried to stifle a laugh. She loved her aunt so much but she had to admit she had no talent in cooking and this was her only way to provide a meal for her.

"Really Aunt Nemu? A burger at this hour?"

"What? It was the only thing I knew you'd like, and the place was the nearest one open out there." Nemuri replied, acting a bit offended.

"But burgers? Really? I would've settled for cup noodles at least. You know I am on a strict diet with All Might's schedule and whatnot."

Nemuri turned an eye to her as the girl sat on the table and began unwrapping her food. Her lips moved in a slant direction, her thoughts on this whole training thing wasn't set in stone yet. Especially since the incident with the hospital. Luckily, Izumi didn't seem to notice her.

"But honey, a bit of protein still helps, you do want to build up your muscle mass." Nemuri said as she took another piece from her meal and ate it.

"I know, but I really need to eat healthier for this. The exam is still a few months away but I want to be absolutely ready by then." Izumi said before chomping on her burger.

"Well you're going to have to wait for a few more days until your mother arrives. She'll be able to cook for you then." Nemuri remarked and instantly Izumi felt a bit down when her mother was brought into the conversation. She looked at her burger and decided to ask Nemuri about it.

"W-When is mom going to arrive home Aunt Nemu?"

"She hasn't told me yet. But she did say it would be sooner than expected. She's eager to see you after all." The older woman said as she stopped eating and leaned forward. There was some truth into her words but she too wanted Inko to be here, a lot has happened the last few days and the last call from Inko wasn't really that helpful at all.

"I see…" Izumi then began to have thoughts about how her mother would react with this new situation she was in. Training with All Might, having a quirk, trying to be a hero… those were things her mother despised badly when it came to her. Their relationship hadn't been stable with that between them. She was a bit scared and worried on how she would react with this. Nemuri felt that air around her and placed a caring hand on top of hers.

"Izumi. You're mother loves you. Don't forget that."

"I-I know... I just don't know if she'll accept all of this Aunt Nemu. You know how... how she hates this side of me. I don't doubt that she cares, but this one thing in regards of my dream is the wedge that keeps us apart. I think I'm just scared she'll find a way to stop all of this…"

"Izumi."

"S-Sorry… I just don't know when it comes to mom Aunt Nemu. I have that dream of mine in my reach and All Might along with you are there to support me. I just don't want it to disappear suddenly because mom will drag me down."

Nemuri squeezed her hand.

"She won't dear. I know your mother very well. Despite her disposition towards heroes, she truly cares for you. I don't think she will stop you at all with this. You are her daughter, she'll come to see that way with your dream soon enough, and I'll be right there with you every step of the way." Nemuri said with a loving look that the girl couldn't help but smile to.

"Thanks Aunt Nemu."

"Anytime." The older woman said as she withdrew her hand.

"You really think she'll come around?"

"She will. She has to." Nemuri said with a nod.

_She needs to right now. A lot is at stake, especially since All Might will know in time too. _Nemuri thought internally as the girl innocently smiled and continued to eat.

"Anyway… you haven't been using your quirk lately right?" Midnight asked Izumi to change the subject. Izumi perked up and looked at her.

"Oh not at all. I've been down to researching about it, to see if there's any quirks out there that are similar to mine. It'll help when I train with it again."

"Izumi, didn't me and All Might asked you to stop using it until otherwise?" Nemuri said with a slightly worried tone.

"Well yes… but I still think I need to train myself on how to handle it Aunt Nemu. If I'm going to be a pro hero someday like you, I need to master it to be the best hero I can be. Especially since All Might has put his faith in me and I also want to learn more about my quirk so when 'One for All' becomes mine I'll be able to use both quirks to their full potential."

_Both quirks? _Nemuri then started to think pessimistically.

"Just try to be considerate about your own health Izumi okay? I don't want you to get hurt like last time."

Izumi gulped down the piece of the burger she chomped on and nodded.

"Of course…"

"So, what has All Might been doing with you on this training?" Nemuri said.

"Oh, we've gone back to cleaning the beach. I think I made some good progress so far. Miss Kaguya always helps me clean up after each session. So all in all I've been doing good."

"That's great. Keep it up, and don't forget on your studies as well. U.A. isn't just a hero school you know? Even if I will become your teacher I don't expect you to just slack off."

"I know… I've been going with the schedule so it won't be a problem."

_Good. _Nemuri said internally as they continued eating. The rest of the breakfast came along normally with Nemuri being the one to clean up their meals. Izumi walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. Thinking of what to do today as her aunt was busy cleaning. She took her phone and opened it.

Surprisingly she had a total of 12 missed calls from a certain blonde female friend of hers, Himiko. She wondered why exactly she tried calling her. After opening the phone she was going to the chat application that she and Himiko shared to ask her about it. While doing so she also noticed that girl had also been texting her non-stop, so she was going to read it until a knock on the door of their apartment was heard. The knock came again and she placed the phone on the coffee table in the living room to see who it was.

"Aunt Nemu? Are we expecting anyone today?"

"Not that I know of why?" her aunt said from the kitchen.

"Someone's on the door."

"Ask who it is first! I'll be right there."

Izumi then arrived at the door and heard that knock again, this time it felt a bit forced than earlier. Like the person who was knocking was losing their patience. She then opened the door to their apartment slightly after taking off some of the locks and chain holding it in place. Peeking on the small opening she asked again on who it was.

"Who is it?"

"Deku. Are you there you chump?" a familiar voice said.

Opening it to see clearly, Izumi's eyes widened when she saw one of her 'friends' on the door wearing civilian clothes as if he was going out with someone. Izumi suspiciously looked at him as she opened the door fully. Clearly she did not expect this at all.

"The hell are you doing here?"

Katsuki instantly frowned and looked dangerously at her. Only for Izumi to stare unaffected.

"What do you mean what the hell am I doing here? You were the one who forced me to come today you stupid nerd!"

"Huh? Did I say that? I don't remember ever saying anything yesterday _Kacchan_." Izumi teased to annoy him further as the blonde boy angrily looked at her as if she was something he loathed (which may have been the case).

"What? You and that crazy bitch told me you needed me for something today! Don't tell me you've forgotten. Or is this just a prank to waste my time in coming to this stupid place of yours?"

"Wait… I agreed to make you come along? That doesn't sound like me." Izumi said as she tried to recall what exactly this supposed situation was.

"How the hell am I supposed to know you idiot?" Katsuki yelled. Izumi crossed her arms at him.

"Can you pipe your tantrums down? The neighbors might get angry at us."

"Like I give a crap of what they think." The boy spat back as the both of them stared down at one another with intense gazes. Only broken when Izumi heard her Aunt's voice back in the apartment.

"Izumi who is it?"

"Who's that? Your mom?" Katsuki asked in a bored tone. Izumi then grabbed his shirt to pull him forward towards her as she glared at him.

"That's my aunt. Be nice, got it? Otherwise I'll go to your mom and tell her how fucking rude you are with me." Izumi threatened in a low voice as the boy simply looked away with a scoff.

"Izumi who's this boy you have there?" Midnight said in surprise after seeing Izumi holding the hem of Katsuki's shirt in full view. Izumi quickly turned to her and ruffled Katsuki's hair.

"O-Oh hey Aunt Nemu, t-this is my friend Kaccha-No, Katsuki. He came to visit I guess…" she said as she ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance. He then gripped her wrist and made her stop.

"Don't touch my hair Deku!"

"What the hell did I just say?" Izumi argued back as Midnight watched the two teens arguing in front of her. Suddenly a grin came to Nemuri's features as a thought came into her mind about the scene before her.

"Izumi… is this boy your boyfriend?" Nemuri playfully said.

Instantly both teens looked at her in shock. Katsuki most of all looked more shocked and disapproving with what was described of them. However, both of them got considerably red from blushing.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD I THINK THAT WAY WITH DEKU? SHE'S NOT EVEN WORTH MY TIME!"

"AUNT NEMU! HE'S NOT- WHY WOULD I? THAT'S ABSURD! I WOULDN'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS IN DATING THIS STUPID JERK. BESIDES HE CAN'T EVEN BE NICE ENOUGH TO SAY HI TO ME!" Izumi yelled as the both of them were starting to angrily glare and argue with each other with red faces. Midnight laughed hysterically, after all the stress she had been experiencing the last few days a good laugh like this was worth it. The two teens looked at her with confused expressions.

"What's she laughing about?" Katsuki said as he let her go.

"I don't know, maybe your dumbass face got to her…" Izumi said as she looked away with an angry Katsuki trying to make her take back what she just said.

"Oh my, I think I haven't had a good laugh like that in a while. Thanks kids. I really needed that." Midnight said as her composure returned. She then walked close to Izumi and stared at the both of them. Like a mischievous mother ready to tease her daughter (which to her, was something really wanted to do). Izumi then understood what she was trying to do.

"A-Aunt Nemu! I told you this bozo isn't my boyfr-" Izumi stopped when Midnight leaned in and pulled her close. Katsuki watched with an awkward face as the scene transpired.

"Then introduce me hon… he wouldn't just barge in here with that fiery aggression of his if he isn't with a relationship with you in some way." Midnight teased with a wink. Izumi grew redder, to Katsuki it seemed like her face was now matching with the color of her red hair.

"R-Relationship? W-With him? NO! NOPE! NADA! I'm not! You're mistaken." Izumi said as her brain unintentionally tried to imagine what having Bakugou as a boyfriend will be. Clearly to her it was preposterous, impossible, and something she did. not. want. to. happen.

"Listen here ma'am. Deku isn't my girlfriend nor will she ever be. I'm just here because her nerdy ass asked me for help and because my mom said I should. Which if given the chance I wouldn't." he said as he angrily glared after recalling that conversation Mitsuki, his mother told him. To Midnight though, it only increased her enthusiasm.

"You already got the approval of his mom Izumi? That's amazing! And here I thought you weren't very social. Tell me, how smitten are you with this boy?" Nemuri happily said with a pretend tear in her eye. She giddily embraced her into her arms. Izumi then glared at him in the lines of saying: _YOU MADE THIS WORSE IDIOT!_

"Aunt Nemu you got it all wrong. Katsuki's mom here met me at school to thank me for saving his son after that villain attack remember?" Katsuki instantly tried to rebuke her statement, only for Izumi to put a hand on his mouth to stop him.

"Oh… she met you? Isn't that a surprise." The older woman said.

"Yeah, and because of that she was grateful for my intervention, though I did say that it was a joint effort. I wouldn't have gotten him out there unscathed if it wasn't for some of his doing." Izumi said as she smiled at the boy, whom her hands were still plastered on his face. She withdrew and he scoffed.

Nemuri smiled at the both of them.

"I see… well it is nice to meet you then, Katsuki wasn't it? I'm relieved that my niece is finally opening up to people. She isn't really the best when it comes to having friends. That's why I'm glad to see you here." Katsuki merely nodded at her as he returned his attention to 'Deku'.

"If you stop me from saying anything against you next time I'll freaking kill you." He warned in a low voice next to her ear. Izumi raised an eyebrow at him in response.

"Anyway young man, what brings you here? If you two aren't love-"

"STOP! WE'RE NOT!" both said in unison. Nemuri smirked.

"As I was saying, what brings you here? Izumi never told me anything about her going out today. Much less with a boy no less. Is it just the two of you?"

"No… blondie is still coming from what she texted me earlier. By the way who gave her my number? Was it you?" Katsuki said to Izumi.

"Yeah me… I thought you and her might get along too. In fact I reckon you'd be happy to get a girl to text you. You're pretty much desperate if you're that rough with people."

"Why the hell would I like her of all people? She's worse than you and far weirder!"

"Hey! She's my best friend. Don't you dare call her that." Then the two were about to move into another argument as Midnight stood there perplexed, intrigued, and had a feeling of awkwardness seep into her. Their relationship, may it be friends or otherwise was a bit too much for her. But, she was still happy to know that finally after all these years… Izumi had found people to call friends.

"Ms. Kayama! Keep your kid's blabbering down. It's too early in the morning to have this racket!" an old man in his fifties it seemed said as he walked towards their part of the apartment complex. Izumi and Katsuki stopped arguing after seeing the old man with an annoyed face.

"IZU! I got here just in time! Sorry if I was a bit late. I had to do some stuff first at home and-" Toga, who had just arrived was abruptly stopped when Izumi and Katsuki pulled her into the apartment, leaving Nemuri to deal with the older man who came to talk to them about the noise.

Shutting the door behind them left the three teens in Izumi's living room.

"Who was that old guy? He seemed intense." Himiko said as Izumi saw that she was in rather cute clothes today. Some khaki shorts over a pink shirt while wearing a light blue blazer was something Izumi really liked seeing. She also had a small red sling bag hanging by her side as her twin buns of hair were tied up nicely. Complimented with her intense yet happy-go-luck demeanor, she looked ready for a day out. Izumi then felt between the three of them she was the one underdressed. Being that she was still in her pajamas.

"That was our neighbor. Kacchan here and I got too noisy." Izumi said as she sat next to the cheerful girl. Katsuki slumped on the couch, a good distance from the two of them.

"Oh! I see… then who was that pretty lady there Izu? Is she your mom?"

"She's my aunt. She's also the Hero Midnight!" Izumi proudly said. Katsuki looked their way as he then recalled that the woman was familiar. Himiko on the other hand simply went a bit more excited.

"Cool! You're aunt's a pro hero? That's awesome!"

"Isn't she the R-Rated her-OOPH! What was that for?" Katsuki said as a pillow was thrown at his way. Izumi glared at him slightly.

"Aunt Nemuri is like my mom. Don't you dare look nor even speak of her that way." She threatened. Himiko had her mouth open slightly at Izumi as the boy scoffed again.

"Like I'm even interested at that thing anyway." He said as he looked away. Izumi then wanted to change the subject.

"So… why exactly are you two here Miko?" Izumi asked.

"Oh? You don't remember? You agreed that we should watch a movie together today." Izumi then instantly recalled a moment yesterday where she was very groggy in class (due to her exhaustion and her habit of staying up late) and Himiko was talking to her non-stop. Leading her to agree and say yes to everything she said. Likely this came from that.

"This is about a movie? Why the hell did you drag me along Blondie?" Katsuki angrily said.

"Because you're Izu's friend and that means I get to be your friend too! I thought this'd be a good opportunity for us three to get to know each other better! Oh and the movie we're going to watch is also super cool from what people say so I said to myself, why not? Besides, it'll be more fun this way right? The three of us together! It'll be rad." The blonde girl cheerfully said, one of the things that Izumi liked about Himiko in the short time they've been friends.

"I'm not your friend. I'm only here because Deku here has leverage over me because of my mom." He said in an angry pout. Leading Toga to tease him while Izumi smiled at the both of them. She then excitedly began to get into the conversation as Izumi more or less got thrilled with the idea of going out with them today. The chat continued even until Midnight came in and instead of barging into their talks, she merely greeted them as they greeted back and headed to the kitchen to let them be. Minutes passed by with her and friends simply talking and having fun with it (even Katsuki seemed to tolerate this in his own way).

"Shoot, it's getting closer to 10 AM, what was the closest schedule of that movie again Miko?" Izumi asked the blonde girl.

"Oh, it's 12:35 from what I saw in my phone." Izumi then stood up and excused herself.

"I better get ready. Just wait for me a bit okay?" she said before speeding off. As she left she heard Katsuki asking about what movie they were going to watch, with Izumi hearing something about a horror movie that involved aliens or monsters. Izumi recognized what movie it was and smiled while thinking that this may be a pretty good day out than she initially thought. As she headed to her room, she saw her aunt sitting on the kitchen table looking over some papers that involved her work as a teacher in U.A.

She decided to leave her to her business when the older woman called out to her.

"Yes Aunt Nemu?"

Midnight took off her glasses and smiled lightly at her while resting her elbows on the table.

"I'm glad you finally have friends." She said as Izumi felt her heart warm to the compliment. It did surprise her as well to have those two. All her life everyone was trying to hide away from her, resent her, bully her, and completely ignore her. She found that it may have been because of her quirkless nature, but it didn't seem at all that those two in her living room cared (well maybe Katsuki may care, since he was a bit apprehensive at her at first). They hadn't known yet of her quirkless past, but she hoped that one day she would be open to say it to them. Himiko best of all seemed like a great friend, much like her they had lot in common so she wasn't at all afraid should she tell her the truth. But today she decided not to dwell on those thoughts and just enjoy the day off.

"Don't just stand there Izumi, they're waiting for you. Best be on your way." Nemuri said in encouragement as she winked at her. Izumi shook her head with a smile and left. Leaving the older woman to sigh in relief.

At least that was one worry off of her list.

_About damn time… _she thought before returning to her work.

* * *

15:34 Hours, Aldera Municipal Building, Conference Room…

Steam was fuming off of Toshinori Yagi as the Symbol of Peace All Might himself deflated slowly into his true form. He was the last person in the Conference room because of a meeting entailing the Aldera Memorial Day event in which he was to attend to. It was an important event to be closely monitored and celebrated by the entire nation. It was also a bit special this time as it was already the fourteenth year of commemoration in respect to those who lost their lives to the tragedy. The meeting in itself was being held by the Aldera Police force, the heroes stationed there as well as members of the top ten, and lastly the Prime Minister himself whom was gracing his presence for the holiday next week.

The meeting went on smoothly. The event was going to be extra special this year around which is why he was called in to be part of it. Being that he was there on that very night, Toshinori felt a sense of responsibility to be there to pay respects.

This also forced him to remain in his powered form for the majority of the day in this meeting. Since not everyone knew of his true form in the room of those who were invited. He calmed himself that whatever bad things happened outside, it will be handled by the other pros. He put his faith on them, which is why he was not that much inclined to go out there to do hero work. Relaxing for today was his issue and he sat down on one of the chairs as he reverted back to his true form. He wiped his lips with his handkerchief for any blood that spilled from his revert, as today he used up all his time with these staff meetings. Not having any at all time to train his new successor, which to him may have been the best. He didn't want a repeat of the last incident.

He sighed to himself. A lot of things worried him these past few days. Most of those things were with the girl in question. His would be successor. His thoughts primarily were focused on the girl during the whole meeting today. Midnight, her aunt had told him that he should have answers soon on this. As it would help with some of the concerns he had and what Izumi's quirk was. As well as what 'One For All' would do for the kid. He needed to be patient for it. This would also allow him to talk to the mother of the girl, making it easier to understand her quirk and its rather horrible drawbacks.

"Shall I fetch you tea sir?" Kaguya said as she came into the conference room and locked the door behind her. Insuring that no one would see him in his current form. The woman per usual had her suit and tie on, this time holding a tray with the tools and elements for either tea or coffee. Toshinori looked at her and nodded her to come close.

"Tea would do Ms. Kaguya." He surmised as the woman prepared it for him.

"Are you thinking about that girl again sir?" she said as she handed the hot tea for him to drink. He gladly took it and sipped as he stared into the windows of the room, having a clear view on the entirety of Aldera Ward along a sunny yet cloudy sky.

"It's going to rain I think." He said. Kaguya looked at the view and agreed.

"I do think it can sir. It isn't summer yet after all."

All Might then placed the teacup on the table, he finished it rather quickly.

"Something is bothering me Ms. Kaguya. About the girl's quirk. I feel like I've seen it before but my head can't quite settle on where or how exactly I'm familiar with it. That very moment young Izumi struck that slime villain resonated so much to me. I don't know, it's just being ringing into my head for days. Ever since that girl got rushed to the emergency room with that kickback from her quirk made me think deeply about her, and made me question what exactly Midnight and that mother of hers is hiding."

"You doubt that the girl's legal guardians sir?"

"No… Midnight is a decent hero. Even with how she's perceived by the media and the public she isn't one to hide something insidious from everyone. But I do have questions, precisely why Izumi only just got her quirk now? Why she was quirkless for so long, and why she has that quirk in the first place."

"The girl's quirk could be a combination of her parent's quirks sir."

Toshinori thought about it. Along the years it was possible for a child to be a hybrid of their parent's quirks or having both their quirks at the same time, which was rarer for the latter.

"Even if that is the explanation Ms. Kaguya, what exactly are the quirks her parent have? And why are the only family in that girl's life is her mother and aunt."

"Didn't you tell me Madame Midnight will tell you about it soon should the girl's mother arrive?"

"Yes I do… but I just can't shake the feeling of this being all too familiar with me."

They let the thoughts sink in as both looked at the view in front of them. Their thoughts were interrupted after when a series of knocks were heard from the locked door. Kaguya's bunny ears stood up as she walked and asked who it was. Meanwhile, Toshinori's thoughts drifted back to the incident fourteen years ago in this city. It was lively and busy now but he recalled the deafening silence of that night along with the last memory of a well-known villain holding a child in her arms.

"Excuse me sir… you have a guest."

"Who is it?" Toshinori said as he didn't even bother to look.

"It's Sir Nighteye."

Toshinori instantly looked at her direction and allowed his assistant to let the person in. As the doors opened he saw the green-haired pro hero as well as being his former sidekick himself back in the day. The hero Nighteye was standing there greeting him. The older man smiled and allowed him to sit next to him. Along him was a blue-skinned woman wearing formal attire like Kaguya's. She also sat a few chairs away from the two of them. Nighteye introduced her as his one of his sidekicks called Bubble Girl. After a few introductions and greetings together, they all settled for a talk while Kaguya prepared tea and coffee for all of them.

"It's been a while All Might." Nighteye said to him.

"It has. I actually miss the days when were together Mirai. It was always interesting with you around." Toshinori said with a deeply nostalgic tone on his voice.

"Really? You miss my constant rants about your health and safety old man?" Nighteye teased.

"Ha… it was better than not having anything. Miss Kaguya is a great help for me, but she's a bit more intense than you at times."

"I heard that." They all heard the bunny-eared woman say. An intimidating expressionless face was felt by Bubble Girl who was being served by her.

"How are you these days Mirai?"

"Oh nothing but some certain usual things to deal with. Crime rates aren't as high as before but there are still a few moderate sized operations from here and there. It's been quiet lately if that's what you're asking. Villains and such aren't making moves as of yet." Nighteye said as he adjusted his glasses and had a glint in his eye that Toshinori saw.

"Yet you're worried huh?"

"It never is easy with villains, one minute you're peaceful in this town and the next you have a crisis in your hands. It helps to be on edge in times like these. We may never know that this quiet time we have could be the calm before the storm."

"You have a point on that."

Nighteye then looked at his former mentor and saw the deep look he had towards the view outside. It had turned a bit gloomy because of the clouds and Nighteye was certain at what he was thinking about.

"Still having nightmares?" he asked him.

"No… I haven't gotten any for a while now. It's just really odd seeing this city differently than what it was fourteen years ago. You weren't there Mirai, and I'm happy that you weren't. If you saw and heard what this city was like when everything was quiet, I think you'll reevaluate what the word 'silence' is. This is different with All for One, sure he did kill my master and killed hundreds maybe thousands of people but that one night where I could have done something to prevent all of those deaths was something I never could forgive myself for." He said as his reminisce took him back to those memories. Her… that baby on her hands. The way she fled and never appeared again.

"We can't save everyone All Might, I thought you were the one who told me that."

"I know, but I could have done something…"

Nighteye then frowned and leaned closer to him.

"We'll find justice for those casualties All Might. We will. It may not be now but it will someday."

The older man sighed and hoped that it would be the case.

"Thanks. What brought you here to see me anyway?"

"I just saw you pass by, and I couldn't help but not say hello to you. Talking on the phone isn't really comparable to actually seeing you in person."

Toshinori laughed at his sentence. Allowing Nighteye to feel a bit of positivity on himself after relieving him of thoughts on that particular night.

"I guess we've been too busy together to actually see each other huh?"

"I think that is the case." Nighteye said as they exchanged a short chuckle.

"Anyway All Might, I've been meaning to ask… have you decided already?"

"About what Mirai?"

Bubble Girl and Kaguya looked at the two men and both knew what was to come next. Kaguya felt a sense of unease with the next set of conversations as it regarded about All Might's successor. Which was a topic that both were still on edge by. They weren't exactly mad or angry at each other but the two did not share similar opinions about his decisions with 'One For All'.

"You know what I'm talking about All Might. I've already showed him to you, not in person still but I know you've seen the potential and how powerful he is. The perfect candidate is now a choice I am readily giving to you my friend. The only thing you need to do is take it."

Toshinori turned his head to his former sidekick. He knew what he meant. Yet he already made a decision, but it wasn't on this fellow he was offering. It was with a certain meek and smiling crimson—haired girl that in a few short days had already tunneled close to his heart.

He hoped that Nighteye would agree with him.

"Mirai look, I know you have the best intentions in regards to this-"

"A TEXT MESSAGE IS HERE! A TEXT MESSAGE IS HERE! A TEXT MESSAGE IS HE-" his ringtone said as he excused their conversation while he took his phone and saw the message displayed on the screen.

It was from Midnight.

"All Might… you okay there old man?" Nighteye said as Toshinori saw the message on his phone.

"**She's Here… you need to come right away."**

* * *

17:50 Hours…

It had been a great day together with Himiko and for some odd reason Katsuki as well (although he more or less continued to make unnecessary arguments with both girls for the rest of the day). They managed to get to the movie they wanted to watch and enjoyed the whole experience. Even though the movie leaned a bit on horror, Izumi enjoyed it for how creative it was and was happy that it ended on such an interesting way that most films wouldn't do nowadays. Katsuki enjoyed quite well but he reserved those thoughts on his own, even with how much Izumi and Himiko teased him about really loving it. He denied most of it of course but he never truly said that he didn't like the film. Himiko also enjoyed it really well as even with her minor complaints in the vein of the film not being that violent or too 'horrory' she still found the film a welcome and pleasant experience.

What they also commended it for was that fact that it was creative with its premise. Something they all thought was done incredibly well.

After the movie they also went to eat together for lunch in a local noodle restaurant. Enjoying meals together while also talking along the way both about the film, school, as well as the schools they decided on to go after middle school. It was apparent that all of them wanted to go to U.A., especially Izumi and Bakugou who were a bit hell bent against each other on who would be better after graduating in that prestigious school. Himiko on the other hand was passive against this topic but decided that she would try and get into U.A. since Izumi was going there as well.

The conversation ended with a suggestion from Himiko on both Izumi and Katsuki who were arguing on who was going to pass the entrance exam with higher points. The blonde girl took their attention when she said that they should collaborate on training together on weekends for the exam. Which wasn't a bad idea on Izumi's part (though he would have to tell All Might about this). Katsuki resented the idea at first until Izumi challenged him on being a wimp. The blonde girl grinned widely to the exchange in victory and they ended the whole trip with a bit if sight-seeing around Aldera Ward. It didn't take long as the only boy in their company complained that he wouldn't be part of that shopping 'bullshit' the girls had. Izumi and Himiko laughed as they finally separated from him, bidding him goodbye as he went home.

Leaving the two girls again alone going through the city together. Talking and getting used to each other's company while at it. They were walking along the street holding an umbrella as it drizzled quite a bit. The cloudy sky a few hours ago had made its downpour as they came along together. It wasn't really bad that they had to walk in the rain, it was actually a bit fun that they got a bit wet as they played with each other while walking.

All in all, it was a blast of day and Izumi felt it best after realizing that this was the first time she ever got out with friends by her side. She looked at Toga and smiled at her.

"Today was amazing." The blonde girl said.

"Yeah… who knew we'd have this much fun. Now I don't regret nodding to everything you said yesterday." Izumi teased as Toga who was holding the umbrella pouted a bit.

"You were only nodding to everything I said yesterday? Shame on you Izu. You hurt my feelings."

"Oh come on now… I was just busting your marbles."

"Fine… but I have to ask though, why have you been very tired lately? Especially at school, are you sleeping late at night or something? Do you have a job?"

"Oh not at all. I've been practicing and training myself for the U.A. Entrance Exam that is. If I'm going to pass there I need to be Plus Ultra to prove myself. You should as well, especially since you were the one who suggested we all train together."

The girl giggled as she was now starting to skip on the wet sidewalk. Some droplets splashing and hitting Izumi but they didn't care. Even though she was getting wet from the rain, they both liked the sensation of just being themselves together. It felt great.

"You're really serious with this training thing huh Izu? I'm quite surprised you've already started. The entrance exam is still ten or more months away…"

"I know, but it helps that I get ready. I do want to be a pro hero someday. So I have to be prepared." She said as she tried to flex her arm on her. It wasn't toned nor muscled yet, but she had progress.

"Aww poor Izu… you're really hell-bent on all of this. It's making me blush at how much you want this. You'll really gonna be a great hero someday." Himiko said with heart and conviction in her voice. They had now arrived in a park near the shoreline as they walked along. Izumi feeling the gratitude from her friend's support.

"I hope so Miko… oh, we're here!" Izumi said as she ran off without Toga to protect her from the rain. She ran into the center of the small park where three large slabs of concrete fashioned in smooth marble and designed to be as astute and noticeable as a landmark. A patch of grass was laid out around it covered by red flowers as evidences of candles and the like were positioned around the slabs. Izumi looked at them and Himiko came to her side holding the umbrella for the both of them. Picking a red camellia flower as droplets of water came down from the sky, she looked at the monuments again.

It was the Aldera Tragedy Memorial. Three slabs plastered with the names of the 6789 people killed on that night was shown. A plaque lay at the ground with the date April 12 was seen by the both of them as Izumi held the flower she plucked from the garden in her hands.

She closed her hands on it as Himiko watched.

"Izu? What's wrong?"

Izumi opened her eyes and looked at the sky. The rain pouring down from the clouds made the mood somber but respectful in the both of them. Izumi especially as she closed her eyes and re-opened them again after placing the red camellia flower on the patch of dirt next to the monument. She smiled as she traced one of the vibrant red flower petals.

"Izu?" Himiko asked again.

"You want to know something about me Miko?" the blonde girl looked confused as she knelt closer to Izumi to shield her from the rain. Her crimson hair was now wet from the downpour.

"My birthday is April 12." Himiko's eyes widened as she stared in shock at her friend.

"Izu… then that means…" Izumi then turned to her with a somber smile.

"Yeah. I was born the exact day this tragedy happened? Pretty crazy right?" Himiko tried to smile back but she was a bit estranged that Izumi kind of smiled at this.

"This is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a hero in the first place Miko… because ever since I was a little girl I was always sad and bummed to hear that my birthday coincided with the very day where thousands of people have died. I always hated this part of my life ever since then."

"Izu, are you alright?" Himiko asked again.

"But now looking at it from a different perspective I see now that this is why I want to be a hero. I want to make sure that something like this never happens again. With my quirk I can do it and I'm going to make sure that no family, friend, nor loved one will ever face the same fate as those who died on that night. Justice will be served for them and I made it one of my vows that one day when I get to be a pro hero, I'll find the person that did this and bring them to justice. Just as All Might always has." She said with brave determination in her voice and the will to honor that promise. Himiko smiled faintly at her as she placed a supportive hand on her shoulder while Izumi looked at the red flower with new conviction.

The conviction to see her vow to be made someday.

"I made a promise to every soul with their names written here that Izumi Midoriya will one day make them rest knowing that justice was served." She said with a fist into her heart.

"And that no loved one or friend gets to lose those who they cherish most ever again." Izumi finished as she held Himiko's hand with a smile.

"That's a grand speech you just made Izu… like I said, you'll be a great hero someday."

"Nah, I'm just trying my best and besides whether I get to be great or not I'll still try to honor that promise. Especially now that there are people in my life that I cherish most in the world." Izumi lovingly said that made the both of them to smile and chuckle happily.

"Sure you will Miss Hero… now let's get to somewhere drier, I'm soaked enough as it is." Himiko said as they both laughed, leaving the monument as the rain continued to fall.

The flower still nestled between them.

With that flower was the promise of a certain crimson-haired girl. The same crimson-haired girl that unknowingly ended the lives of those whose names were written there.

* * *

40 Minutes Later…

Izumi was climbing up the steps of her apartment complex. After saying goodbye with her best friend after such a wonderful day, she felt fulfilled and renewed in some way. She had to remind herself that things were different now and that she was a step closer towards her dream. It was surreal and unprecedented that things were going her way and with every new discovery came something better for her lately. She had friends now, she had her hero training her, and best of all her dream of becoming a hero wasn't far from her reach now and she was happy that things were finally going her way.

The promise she made on the Aldera Memorial was also something she was proud of. The very day itself was full of things that she loved and would cherish for the rest of her life. Back then it was only a pipe dream of her to have days like this.

There was no sadness that much anymore.

No more sorrow…

No more rejection…

And best of all, no more neglect…

She smiled happily to herself as she finally reached the door to her apartment and took her keys as she opened it with a skip on her step. Ready to tell her aunt what just happened today. She was so excited that she wanted her and Nemuri to possibly have a special dinner tonight to commemorate her happiness…

Only for her to open it and see that on the living room was a disgruntled and shocked All Might in his powered form, a stressed out and angry Nemuri, and her mother standing in the middle of it. Inko Midoriya was finally home, battered, bruised, wounded, and had a sling covering her right arm cast that looked fresh and broken from something severe that attacked her.

Her green hair was also tied as a patch was covering her left cheek, her lips had some lacerations as well and some of her fingers in the left hand bandaged up as well. Her eyes looked tired too as all of their gazes were now pointed at Izumi who was at the doorway.

Her mother staring at her with wet and tearful eyes full of concern and worry at her presence.

"I-Izumi…" she weakly said.

"Mom?"

END OF CHAPTER 5

* * *

**Final Notes: To clarify on something to you guys about this version of Toga, I need you guys to know that she isn't going to be a goody-two shoes character. She is more or less morally ambiguous at this point and I don't want her to be a very different Himiko Toga that is far off from canon. Deep down crazy sadistic blonde girl is still there in her, though the reason why she's acting really soft is a thing I can't really spoil to you guys. So keep that in mind as more chapters go into her character as the story progresses. As for the cliffhanger ending of the last chapter, I intentionally left it out but it will be explored in the next.**

**Please Read and Review too if possible (would love some feedback) ;)**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Broken Roots - Inko faces her worst fears as she arrives home trying to mend past mistakes for her daughter. All Might hears the truth as he struggles with the knowledge of his successor's dark past. Alongside this, Inko lays down the reality of Izumi's situation. Both about the nature of her quirk and how fate will affect her future.**


	7. SideStory 1: Cat and Mouse

SideStory #1

"Cat and Mouse"

13:23 Hours…

A woman was wiping off blood from a man's nose. She was cleaning it with a pair of tissues being rubbed along the base of his lips and the tips of his nose. Being nestled in a prone position with his back facing the couch of this hotel room, she intimately and carefully tidied up the entire area by herself. Every small detail down to the very core of it was cleaned in order to make it so that no evidence was found of her presence. She looked at every angle in a brisk pace to see and concur any clue that will lead to evidence being used against her. After quite a while of erasing all the traces, she finally found the solace of her mind. Relaxing quite a bit after finishing up. Taking off the plastic gloves from her hands, she placed them on to a zip lock bag along with the other tools she used for the sanitary clean up.

She placed them inside her small bag that was slung around her. Her suit and mask was barely shown under the shaded parts of the hotel room. No lights were on. No other person was around and she was left to dispatch a target freshly in the matter of a short deadline. The reward was sufficient for this risky job, as this time period which was the start of the afternoon attracted a lot of eyes. Luckily, she was able to get inside the hotel room wearing her new suit. While it did attract a pair of attention thrown at her presence, it was enough to stop everyone from being suspicious. The hotel had an event that commemorated heroes around this area, and her new suit seemed to blend in well with the crowd. Well enough for her to not be seen as standing out. No one had recognized her in this suit and it was the first time she ever used anything to wear officially for her jobs.

At first she was unsure of her attire, the green and black highlights were in fact quite stylish, but the color scheme seemed to stand out really well as well as the very horned mask she wore took everyone's notice at first. Though there were stranger costumes and suits in the hotel, some even more extravagant than hers. Some downright eye catchy and some regulated to something akin to sexual in nature. She didn't mind the crowd at all, her job was the only thing that mattered and with the short time she had in analyzing the hotel's structure, map, and schematics she was confident in getting in and out after all is said in done. No hero in this block would be able to remotely notice her presence nor the aftermath of her job.

She smiled to herself. Another paycheck to collect. The target was fairly simple. A local police commissioner which had deep pockets in both the hero society and shady businesses was being lynched by third party group. The details were short but enough for her paygrade. Killing this man discreetly would be the result of a deal gone bad so she had no connections to speak of once all is done.

The only small details that seemed to bother her now before she was going to finish up was the fact that one pro hero outside was able to talk to her for a short period of time. A rather famous hero whom was rising in the ranks worldwide. A certain man that called himself "All Might" in his blue and red shiny suit managed to say hi to her, to what extent did the man notice her, she wasn't sure.

So the exit point for her job was likely not going to be where she came in at first. She wouldn't dare to go out by the main door as well, as two police officers were guarding it. Preventing no one to come in or out without consent from the man she just killed or someone with higher authority. Recalling the schematics of this room she figured the only other exit here was the window where she could use her quirk to move her safely into another balcony two stories down. It won't gather notice if she was discreet and being that the public was rather used to the sight of heroes she wouldn't stand out that much in the sun if someone saw her.

The method she got into the room was simple, a maintenance shaft which was wide enough for her to slip in lead to one of the tight exhaust ports that she dismantled easily and quietly with her quirk. She entered the restroom and strolled in, instantly killing the man as soon as he came into view.

Now, she was ready to move out of the place. The only thing left to do was having some proof that she was the one who took him out. She took out a small syringe from bag and took a small sample of blood along with her, placing it back delicately on another separate zip lock bag. She then put it back where it came from and surmised the whole operation she did with one last look.

She then saw the gray-haired man for one last time. He seemed drunk the moment she saw him and for a moment she thought the man looked lustful at the sight of her, only to be killed in manner of seconds as he hit the floor with a small thud. She sighed in relief and began to walk away to exit the scene when a knock on the door was heard.

"Commissioner Hamoaka, I need to speak to you."

_Shit. _

Instantly thinking of a way to leave through the window quietly in a faster fashion, the woman then tried bolting it when the door opened suddenly. Forcing her to find a hiding place in the dimply lit room. She then cursed herself for being sloppy, though it was quite unprecedented that someone was able to enter without so much as having any difficulty at all. She then thought that maybe this person had a higher rank. This meant that she didn't have enough details to plan out the rest of the operation should there be a hiccup down the line.

Lucky for her, she was pretty good at improvising.

The door opened as the woman peeked through behind a nearby wall that moved into the pantry of sorts in this suite. The lights were still turned off and the woman was able to see a bit of a glimpse on who was at the door. Her eyes widened partially in surprise when she saw that blonde tall man who interacted with her earlier. That same man in the blue and red suit who had that flashy large smile of his.

_What in the hell is he doing here?_

* * *

Toshinori Yagi, also known as All Might was invited to a celebration that was made by both pro heroes and the police force to commemorate the valiant bonds and trust formed between the two organized agencies of justice. Being that he had just arrived back in Japan after a long period of years in the United States he decided that coming to this celebration helped the general public in their reception of heroes and their relationship with local law enforcement. His presence would also give a huge boost being that he was rising in the ranks of heroes both in popularity and public reception with his mysterious quirk and ironclad beliefs in justice.

He had been enjoying his day so far, until he caught wind of a certain woman in a strange yet intriguing suit that looked lonely and distant in a bar. She had a horned mask on and he himself thought that he hadn't seen her before. Indicating that she may have been new or just wasn't that popular for the public. Deciding to talk to her, he walked and took the seat next to her in the bar. The woman looked far more striking in person as that mask of hers suited well into her own attire. Her green hair was tied at the back of her head and she seemed transfixed at the drink she was having. Toshinori wondered how the woman was going to drink her glass until the bottom part of her mask collapsed and showed her rather red and alluring lips.

He himself was a man and though he was very respectful with women and had no intention at all with any thoughts of romance, dating or the like; he did see the woman as beautiful based on how the suit worked around her and it certainly added to the intrigue he felt with her.

Before he could even say anything the woman spoke first.

"The hell you want Mr. Popular?" she said in an annoyed tone. It surprised him, the certain woman looked friendly even with the intimidating mask. Though he should have guessed this because she was in fact trying to be alone in this corner of the party.

"Uh… sorry for the intrusion miss. I was just asking why you're here alone that's all."

The woman stared at her after sipping her drink.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"What? No, not at all. I was just concerned. A hero like you should mingle a bit, I mean, it is one of the reasons why we chose to be heroes anyway right? To be there for the people." He said to her after recovering from an embarrassed blush.

"Uh-huh… yeah. So what? Does me drinking alone here count as unheroic?"

"No… I was just wondering why you're alone here. Are you new? I don't think I've seen you before." He asked, trying to change the subject as the woman was clearly annoyed.

"Me? Nah… I'm fairly settled in this place. Been through across towns from time to time but I'm finally settled here. Don't like the media that much, so maybe that's the reason you don't recognize me."

"I see… what is your hero name then? Maybe perhaps I'll sponsor it and say it to some of my police contacts. You can work better under the guise of the police with your hero work if you don't like publicity. Besides, it's the same job only better on your end."

The woman looked at her, clearly trying to process and answer his question.

"You don't have to say it if you want to. I'm just trying to help out, but it's still your choice though."

"No, it's not that I don't want to big guy… I just have so many names for myself that I can't really decide on what to choose from." She replied as she took another sip as well as taking a look at her watch.

"Oh, did your school not give you any names? Or did you graduate without a hero name?"

"No… I just don't like the names I think of at all… Greenie doesn't really fit with my whole get up, nor does green demon, or green shit." She said in a sarcastic manner. Toshinori smiled at her little problem and thought of a name for her.

"What about Jade?" he asked and instantly the woman looked at him. She thought of it for a moment and smiled to herself. Her lips pursing as the entire glass full of alcohol was chugged in after she giggled to herself. Toshinori watched on in confusion, the woman looked happy and annoyed at the same time with how she moved. He didn't mind though, he kind of liked it.

"That's… that's actually a good name. Has a nice ring to it and it doesn't really go against how I look too. Thanks, never thought I'd say that tonight but thanks." She said as she shoved the drink and looked at her watch, it seemed like she was ready to leave the awkward conversation.

"Uh, you're welcome?"

"Don't sweat it Mr. Popular… I'm thankful for the suggestion with the name but like I said I'm not in the mood for your flirty attempts. So bye and see ya around." She then turned away from him and left. Toshinori reached his arm to her to make her stop for a second but he withdrew it seeing that the woman had now walked away, leaving him in his seat.

"Would you like a drink All Might sir?" the bartender said. Toshinori looked up and wondered about the woman he had just met. It was a strange conversation and it seemed like the woman really valued her privacy. He respected that as he tapped his fingers on the wooden bar.

"Bartender, did that woman that just left ever say her name to you?"

"Her? Oh, I don't think so sir… why do you ask?"

"Would have loved to talk to her again." He said, mostly to himself. Because even with how disinterested and annoyed she was with him, he noticed that she was genuinely thankful with the name he just gave her. He smiled a little to that as he asked for a glass of wine and he took the drink into his hands. He then went back to the party and decided to talk to more people and mingle with some police officers and heroes that wanted to talk or interact to him.

He also talked to a certain Police Commissioner of Kamino Ward that was present today. He had heard rumors about him and his rather harsh treatment of the law in his hands with his city. Although being that there was no actual evidence about those rumors, he decided to shake those thoughts away. He talked to him a few times and it was civil for the most part until he asked about how he handled villains. The man was quite dauntless with his beliefs but it wasn't that harsh enough for Toshinori to think of him as dastardly evil. Though he did feel uncomfortable with the presence that the man gave out while they talked.

After their conversation though he left to his room in the hotel along with two police officers that were in charge of his protection. It had been more than an hour after the party went on. It was still going as the final vestiges of the event was about to finish and Toshinori, with the idea to talk to the commissioner again decided to go to his room and invite him back. He could ask for a joint operation together with him soon to see his methods with his own eyes.

He arrived at the doors of his suite and while the two guards were hesitant to let him in at first, they gave him permission after a certain group of selfies and small talk. He quite enjoyed it before going in to talk to the man. He knocked gently on the door as he composed himself.

"Commissioner Hamoaka, I need to speak to you." He said. There was no answer so he knocked again afterwards.

"Sir? Are you there? It's All Might, I need to ask a favor from you. Can I come inside?" he asked, still no answer as the two guards looked at him.

"I think I should enter… you boys guard the entrance should something happen." He said cautiously. The two then nodded as All Might gently opened the door and noticed first hand that the lights were off and the whole suite was covered in darkness. He gently went in and sighed in relief after seeing that the man he was trying to find was on the couch, seemingly sleeping.

He closed the door behind him as he tried to turn on the lights. After switching them on he noticed that the lights never went on. His eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right here. He then walked to the side of the man and tried to wake him up.

"Commissioner… wake up."

No response.

"Sir… something's wrong with this place. I need you to get up." He said in respect. The man still did not react nor respond. He then tried to wake him up by shaking him or tapping his cheek. He was out cold. He then thought that he did see the man drink a lot of alcohol there at the party, but at the very least his chest would rise and he would have minor instincts still kicking into play.

A dark thought came into Toshinori's head as he moved his fingers towards the pulse in his neck.

**THUD!**

"He's dead. If that's what you're wondering about." A voice said after he heard that sound that came from the outside. He looked at the source of the voice, only to see a bright green light emanating from a horn-like structure at the corner of the room. He could see the outline of the person that was the source of that light.

However, his thoughts and body shook to the core when he realized he had heard that voice from before and as the light dissipated, he saw a woman standing across from her. They both looked at each other, an oddly familiar sight.

"What are you doing here?" they both said in unison.

A blush formed from both of them in embarrassment. Even with the scene itself fate it seemed, brought them together in less than pleasant circumstances.

"Tch…" Jade spat as she looked away.

"Who are you?" Toshinori asked as he readied himself. If his hunch was correct, then this woman… was a villain and she was playing along with that suit of hers to blend in. He gritted his teeth when he thought that he was fooled with such a simple rookie mistake. She wanted to be alone and she was scouting this man to kill him right here and disappearing without a trace.

"Oh please you big lug… why do you think I'll give my name to you? She said in a playful tone as she slowly strutted to the side of his vision. Toshinori following her in every step of the way.

"You're a villain. I despise people like you! Killing innocent people for no reasons. Killing people that are vital to the law and justice that must be kept." He said as he pointed at her. The anger in his voice building up.

"Oh come now... you really think Mr. Goatee there is a law abiding citizen?"

Toshinori then began to question what she meant by that.

"What are you talking about?"

"Tch… thought you were a pro hero. A pro hero would know by now that that bastard I killed was a scoundrel that had deep pockets in some shady people. Though I doubt you know that nor even care to know in the first place."

"Shut up!" he said as the woman then started to walk towards him slowly.

"Pro Heroes… you really are the worst. People die everyday because of 'heroes' like these people. Despicable, if I hadn't known better you'd be just like them."

"STOP!" he yelled as he rushed towards her, only to be stopped by a chandelier falling on top of him, with some debris on it. He broke through them away and saw her clapping.

"Wow. You are strong. I think you may as well deserve that popularity. I can see why now." She praised with a hateful demeanor laced in her compliment.

"Guards! Contact the police and pros up here! We have a villain situa-AGH!" he gagged as Jade walked forward with the mask of her horn glowing brightly. The metal chandelier was now snaking across his neck tightening as she walked forward.

He then began to realize that this woman was no meager threat. The fact that she was able to violently control her surroundings flawlessly without any effort as well as having precision to compliment it. He tried holding the metal to tear it off only for a powerful force subduing his arms in place. Like something invisible was constraining him. His whole body stopped dead in its tracks as Jade closed the distance and leaned closer to his face.

She smiled underneath her mask.

"Wow, I underestimated you. You are pretty strong. I was trying the same trick I did with that guy over there by trying to pop a major artery in your brain. But even with how much I try to concentrate you don't budge huh?"

"V-VILE WOMAN!" he groaned angrily.

"What was your plan anyway? Pummeling to the ground? Even if you did Mr. Popular I wouldn't be that easy to fight. There's a reason I've been hiding in the shadows after all this time until you saw me work. Which means… I get the pleasure of killing you."

"Y-You won't get away with this!" he said as the metal tightened.

"How so? Those two idiots out there are dead. That sound you heard before you saw me? I instantly killed them on the spot and don't you dare think of making any noise for anyone to hear you. The party is still going downstairs... so no one is going to hear a damn thing." She said as she whispered close to him, their faces inches away from contact. She then traced his lips with her finger. Mocking him with a triumphant expression.

"Even so… I have a duty to send you to justice!" he shouted as he moved every inch of power he had in his body and focused it on his head. He then headbutted the woman, much to her surprise.

"AGH!" she groaned as she fell back, the force was strong but not enough to daze her. He seemed focused this time, the force of his blows mitigated as he got out of his bonds and rushed her.

Jade regained her footing and quickly levitated a dozen furniture towards him in quick succession. Each one was destroyed as the large behemoth All Might came into view with a fast way into his attacks.

Jade frowned as he was closing the distance on her very quick.

He then threw a punch that the woman dodged with, but it was only a ploy to use his other arm to get her wrist and pin her to the ground.

"DAMN IT!" she said as she crashed to the ground, with Toshinori holding one of her wrists to the ground and pinning her with his knees. He then forced her to stand up as he pinned her to the wall. He then leaned forward next to her shoulder as he pinned her arms. What they both didn't notice however was how their positions alluded into something akin to an innuendo.

Toshinori shook his head as he pried those thoughts away. The woman strangely gave up for some reason in attacking her. Normally she would have done her worst with how aggressive he pursued her. Yet it seemed like she let him take her into this. He gritted his teeth and pinned her more into the wall.

"What are you planning?" he angrily asked.

"Seriously, why the hell would I monologue my ass off to tell you anything I have planned. I would have lost to you quicker than how you mess up with your flirting attempts." She said in deadpan.

"That's not- AGH! Just cooperate. I know you're stronger than that, why the hell would you stop attacking?" he said. She then tilted her head towards him to and seemingly tried to seduce him.

"Oh you big lug… you still don't get it do you? I guess owing you an explanation is better than leaving you guessing. You did in fact help me think of a name earlier. I liked it." she said to him.

"Enough games!" he yelled.

"*sigh… I loathe you heroes for being this stiff."

"Damn it Jade! Tell me!"

"Oh? You're calling me that now? Well in that case, let me remind you Mr. Popular. My quirk doesn't come from my hands you know… so pinning me here is useless. Second, you move an inch, call for help, or even remotely do anything stupid… I'll bring this whole building down with everyone on it. I can still concentrate with my head _genius_."

"W-What?"

"You see it now? Even if you did manage to knock me out cold… my quirk's strength is instantaneous and it'll crumble this building faster than you can save everyone."

"You wouldn't… yo-"

"Oh yes I can… I don't really enjoy killing lots of random people. I hate publicity. That was real on my part… but if it means that I can escape then I'll gladly do it."

"Damn you!" Toshinori said as he weighed in the possibilities of it happening. Even with 'One for All' he couldn't save everyone if she crumbled the building to collapse on itself. He had no other choices that didn't involve casualties.

Jade then rested herself into his arms. Making him disoriented and confused while being on edge at the same time.

"So what's it gonna be _Hero_?" she teased.

* * *

Present…

Toshinori woke up from his dream. He groaned in discomfort. It was more or less a memory of a past interaction he had with a certain villain years ago. That day didn't end in tragedy luckily, but that villain did escape his clutches like every time they met. For some odd reason that memory of their first meeting was something he did not forget at all. Like he was drawn to that memory the more he tried to reminisce of the past. Jade was a peculiar case on his part.

That woman's cat and mouse game with him served as a bizarre connection that they had. Though the many battles that they fought with each other always ended in a draw, it was the odd interactions that stuck with him. Like the woman had this charm that came with her every time they met.

She was still a villain though and as much as he supposedly 'liked' their encounters. He did not tolerate her actions and he hated her for toying him for so long back in the day. Though all of that changed once that night in Aldera happened.

He saw a different Jade than what he was used to.

A broken and afraid woman replaced the confident, teasing, and merciless person she met at that hotel years ago. The reason being why he was thinking of Jade for the matter was because she was there on that incident in Aldera and he couldn't get his thoughts away from that last thing he saw from her. The very night that started it all before she vanished without a trace. She never shown herself since then as the mystery of that woman remained in the air along with the red-haired baby that she carried.

A baby with crimson stands of hair.

_No… it isn't Young Izumi._

Still, the thoughts continued to haunt him ever since the girl was hospitalized and with that was the returning memories of Jade. How it all connected concerned him greatly. It was as if his mind was forcing him to be believe that they were related to Izumi in some way.

He shoved those thoughts deep down his head right away when he calmed himself to remember that he was to talk to Izumi's mother along with Midnight about her quirk. As well as telling them of his plans on making her his successor.

Should everything go as planned, they would help the young girl with her volatile and powerful quirk. He renewed those thoughts on his head to ensure that everything was going to be okay. He relaxed a bit as his assistant told him that they arrived.

Together they climbed into the apartment complex and arrived at the door of Midnight's apartment. He buffed himself up into his powered form and knocked gently on the door. The moment he knocked, he heard a person opening it to see them and as the doors revealed who it was…

A familiar sensation was in the air.

He saw a woman on the doorway. She looked to be in bad shape and she was covered with lots of bandages stretching to her arms as well as patches on some parts of her along with one on her left cheek. Her other arm seemed to be broken as a sling and a cast arm was seen. The woman had widened eyes at him and he saw something in them that haunted him still today.

The same green eyes that had horror and fear laced in them that he saw before she disappeared with that crimson-haired baby. The same eyes that he first saw in that bar years ago.

It was her. He was certain of it.

"What are you doing here?" they both said in unison. Almost the same tone from when they first did it. Toshinori had no doubts anymore… this was her.

It was the woman that he gave a name to…

"All Might?" she asked in a weak voice. Though it didn't seem like the woman he met years ago, it was her. Only vulnerable this time, weaker, afraid, and scared of something.

"Jade… is that you?" he said.

The both of them stared into each other's eye as an off-putting sense of nostalgia rushed into their senses. Midnight then came into view behind the green haired woman and Toshinori's thoughts went into a cascade of emotions and turmoil.

A myriad of questions had just sprouted again, along with a reunion that was unexpected…

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 6: BROKEN ROOTS

* * *

**AN: I'm trying on experimenting with short closed stories like these that are integral to the plot in the future. They will explore numerous things in between chapters and bring up things that are in the background in some of the main plot points. I'm quite excited to make more. but what do you guys think? Should I continue this or should I just get on with the main plot?**

**Although I hope you enjoyed this short ride while I prepare myself in writing the next chapter (which if I'm going to be honest with you, is going to be really hard to do)**

**As per usual I'm happy that you guys are still following this little project I'm making. Leave feedback as well! I'll be glad to answer some of your questions in regards to this story and thanks again for all the follows and views! :)**

**Til' Next time bois and gals!**


	8. VI Broken Roots

**AN: Read notes below after reading the chapter...**

* * *

VI. Broken Roots

_"Izumi…" Inko said as she looked at her._

_ "I-I… I hate you." She muttered softly. _

That memory was played almost in loop inside Inko Midoriya's head. Back in the day, it was her fears that drove her to say such things to her daughter. The fear of her safety. The fear that they would find her. Even with how much Izumi cried because of her, she never relented. Only trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, and even though Izumi hated her for it, she continued to do so based on that belief of hers. It was only now that she realized all of those things that Nemuri warned her about. Only know that she thought of all the pain Izumi went through because of her.

It hit her like a truck after what happened in Italy. The woman named Juno, the leader of that strange organization that invited her to talk opened her eyes to so many things. The visit wasn't at all friendly nor was it diabolical at all. Juno only wanted one thing and that was to add her daughter into the mix of her collection. It wasn't that bad if viewed on paper, but seeing what she did with her experiments on the various people she 'collects', she would never make that choice of putting her daughter into that sort of care. However, it also got her into a situation which was harder in contrast.

Juno knew what she was saying, and most of it can and will come true. Which is why she was afraid now more than ever with Izumi's situation. Time will tell when the world is finally aware of her quirk and abilities. Time will tell how the world would perceive her. Inko only hopes that on that very day she would be there to protect her. But how was she supposed to protect the girl, when even now she narrowly defeated seven powerful quirk users while also attaining some very significant injuries.

Walking with her trolley bag in her good hand, she called for a taxi from the airport to take her home. The entire ride was quiet. Inko was deep in thought throughout most of the time. Thinking of the heavy information she carried as well as the guilt and sorrow bound to the relationship she had with her daughter. She realized it now that she was harsh.

That she was too much on the girl.

Inko wasn't much of a nice nor friendly person, but ever since that night changed her well-being and thought process, she had more than reason to protect Izumi. Adopting the child as her own and giving her life that wasn't transfixed into the fate much like hers. She made it her solemn vow to hide her from everyone and ensure her safety.

That was also the reason why she was too harsh.

Yet, Juno reminded her that everything can never be solved by simple neglect nor lashing out upon things that aren't at her control. She realized that it was Izumi's dream and even with how hard she tried to snuff it out back then… the girl would only find more reason to continue pursuing it.

Even with her and Nemuri's attempts at stopping her…

Even with the lie of her being quirkless…

Izumi remained strong with her dream. A blinding bright dream that soared higher than she could comprehend. She didn't see how much it meant to the girl at first, only thinking of it as a foolish endeavor to pursue.

How wrong she was.

Izumi was like her back when she was younger. Innocent, positive, and had a dream that they intended to pursue no matter the cost. Hers was taken from her, the moment she entered this life. Now that she was gone from it, she was reminded of her mistakes.

She did not want Izumi to suffer them like hers.

But how was she going to mend this with her? The entire time she was with her daughter she was nothing but cold… distant, and sometimes very strict in her presence. She did in fact tried to destroy her hopes and dreams once. When she found Izumi playing with her All Might figure and watching the clips on the internet of him rescuing people.

To be honest, she already knew deep inside her that the girl respects All Might more than her.

She stepped out of the taxi after the driver made the car park beside a very familiar looking apartment complex. Slowly walking out in order not to move her injuries so much, she then saw the familiar place right in front of her eyes once more.

Droplets of rain poured down on her as the taxi driver came to her aid by opening her umbrella. The nice man then gave her the trolley from the trunk of the taxi. She thanked the man as she gave him an extra tip for his kindness.

She then stood there in the rain, thinking to herself if she was ready to come back.

"Everything alright ma'am?" the man said.

Inko looked at him as she held her umbrella. It was odd being this nice to the man. She was nothing but rude and very inconsiderate back then before she came home today. The very moment she left the house she was headstrong, confident, and very attuned to herself. Now, she was quiet, vulnerable, and thoughtful with her actions.

A stark contrast to her old self a month ago. A stark contrast to the Inko she was.

She sighed.

Things were different now. If she didn't have the effort or care to change herself in some way, then things were about to get worse. Especially now that she carried all this weight in her.

"Think none of it sir… I'm just glad. Glad to be home." She said as she tried to convince herself. Her heart heavy with so much baggage that the taxi driver noticed it.

"That doesn't sound very glad to me ma'am. Not that I want to offend you or anything." The man said to her. She gave off a small smile which should have been different back then. She would have told him to piss off but now she didn't have the backbone to.

"If you're nervous on going back home to somebody ma'am, I advise that you don't. Whoever that person is, if you truly do cherish them as a loved one or friend then you don't have anything to be afraid of." he said with an encouraging smile. The sudden words that came from his mouth gave Inko a shred of hope inside her. Even for a little she felt a bit more confidence in meeting her daughter again. But she was still unsure. Unsure like always with everything around her.

"I made some mistakes with my daughter. The reason I'm not trying to get up there now and meet her is because I don't know if she'll welcome me like you said."

The man then smiled again as he adjusted his hat. The rain continued to fall as Inko watched him.

"It doesn't matter if you made mistakes ma'am. Because running away from that problem is worse than confronting it. In the end, if you really do love her then she'll think the same in time." He said with a nod and a wave as he went back to the car and drove away.

Inko waved back as his car vanished down the wet street.

She needed that to boost her morale. She smiled at that thought as she reached down on the sling bag she carried and took out a medium sized box from it. She was going to get it into her arms until something stopped her, she withdrew her hands knowing that it wasn't time yet. She frowned as she zipped her bag back again and took the trolley. Entering the apartment complex with renewed energy.

As she arrived at the lobby of the building she was greeted by Nemuri, her friend in civilian clothing. The woman looked at her direction first with a cautious demeanor until she saw her condition. She immediately rushed to her side in worry, Inko smiled a bit back to her to convince her that it was alright. Though the woman didn't hear her and instead embraced her gently enough to not hurt her with her injuries.

"My God Inko… what happened? Why did you end up like this?" Nemuri said as she withdrew from her while taking the trolley into her hands.

"I-I ran into some trouble." She said simply.

"What sort of trouble? Wait, that's not-" Nemuri stopped when Inko placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder with a deepened look.

"Nemuri, I'm glad to see you and all of that. But I want to know where Izumi is." she said with a weak voice. Her eyes were a bit red as Nemuri could see.

"She's not here yet. But she'll be home soon."

"That's good. I need to talk to her…" she said as tears were forming up in her eyes. Nemuri never saw this side of hers ever since the night she came into her apartment with Izumi in her arms. It surprised her to see her this way.

"Inko, what happened to you?" Nemuri asked with a concerned tone. Inko then gripped Nemuri's shoulder tightly as the woman began tearing up. She then began to softly sob in silence in her shoulder as Nemuri put her arms around her to comfort her.

"I-I need to talk to Izumi… I need to…" she kept on repeating with a weak voice.

"I know... we all need to." Nemuri said as she tried to console her broken friend.

The lobby of the apartment complex wasn't filled with people at that very moment. Only the two of them were there. With Inko softly crying in her friend's arms.

The rain outside didn't help with how grim things were about to happen next…

* * *

Operating on a human body wasn't easy. It was a complex thing that amounted to a lot of consequences. One simple slip and the person to be operated would be killed instantly. That was already hard enough to deal with, but with someone with a regeneration quirk? It was something else entirely. The more you cut and take out organs, tissue, bone, or blood, the quirk would only replace it and replenish itself. Forcing the person who operates him or her to be quick with their actions in order to outpace the quirk itself. Regeneration was a marvelous quirk. It would work wonders for anyone who has it. Eminently rendering the person immortal as a result.

To Juno, because of that detail it only made her more fascinated and astonished. The limit to this quirk and its applications were simply boundless. Diseases itself would cease to exist and the very knowledge on how it can be extracted and used on other people would make wonders for the entire population of humanity. A perfect species with abilities that won't die nor age.

She smiled.

Not an ounce in hell would she even attempt to share this with anyone. Not a person on Earth would get it from her, unless with a price in mind. Still, the thought wasn't in her mindset. She was only here to collect not distribute and this man she had in her hands had probably the most potent regeneration quirk she knew so far in this world. While technically not as strong as the other quirks in her 'collection', it was still a very useful one.

After extracting enough bone marrow fluid from the man on the operating table, she felt that she was done for the day. She rested herself on the room next to the table. The only thing left to do was clean up. Taking her gloves off, she threw them to the trash bin and checked the time on a simple-looking clock placed in the corner of the room.

_She would arrive at Japan by now… _she thought to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to the room opened, revealing a white-haired woman. The woman called as Zoraya stepped into the room. She wasn't in her ornate suit but was still dressed like she was to go to somewhere formal. She also had no mask on, leaving her face bare to see. Her striking beautiful features were shown to Juno clearly in the adequately lit room. Her heterochromia gave her eyes a varying color of gold and silver. A side-effect of her quirk. She was carrying with her a device on her hands. Juno also noticed the bandages still wrapped around her left arm.

"Mistress… may I intrude?" the woman said with a thick Slavic accent.

"Sure you may Zoraya. What is the matter that needed you to come to my presence?"

The woman then placed the device on the table next to the man being operated. The anesthetics still did it's course but his open wounds were already healing at a rapid rate.

"A few of our contacts have been trying to reach out to you. I understand you are busy my lady, but some of them seem important."

Juno stood up and began to push the metal trolley carrying her surgical tools as well as samples to a different part of the room. She then stopped and took off her surgical mask and cap that was hindering her hair. The moment Zoraya saw Juno's horrid eyes into her view, she cringed a bit at how utterly unsettling they looked. Luckily the woman wore a piece of red cloth over her eyes to cover them.

"Who exactly wants my attention at this hour dear?"

"Should I say them to you Madame?"

"Yes of course… it is odd to know that some people are asking for my presence. Our operations aren't even that large for anyone to know us at all."

"I think of that as well…"

"But I will place a hypothesis that this has something to do with the file." She said as she began to undress herself from her current surgical attire. Zoraya took the clothes from one of the wardrobes in the room and held it while she watched the woman become naked in front of her. Her body looked fit and strong for her state, but Zoraya could easily see the various scars and burnt marks all around her torso and legs. Some deep scars were also in her arms, one in particular looked like a sizable burn mark that took over half of her right arm. Thankfully, the woman covered herself up after Zoraya helped her settle into her clothes.

The moment she was fully clothed Juno walked towards the device as Zoraya followed.

"Zoraya… how are your wounds?" she suddenly asked.

"I am fine mistress. The injuries were substantial and she did pack a punch. I'm surprised she was able to best us all even with her numerous disadvantages."

"I agree… and that at least warrants us her respect. I have no doubts she can handle herself from external threats, but the child herself still needs some aid. Should events transpire as I see it, our friend Jade has a lot on her plate when it comes to that girl."

Zoraya then frowned at that.

"Mistress… why the sudden thought of supporting the girl? Didn't we agree to her that we would stay out her reach? It's not that I doubt your methods but I would like to ask why the girl herself interests you that much."

Juno turned her attention to her.

"She is an important chess piece Zoraya, to a large game that will decide the future of our Quirk-filled society. Whatever happens to her now changes the course of human history. The idea of heroes and villains may indeed be uprooted and turned anew. It is important that we are part of that change, and who knows the benefits this reaps for us with our guiding hand on the wheel." Juno said with clear foresight in her thoughts.

"So you are only helping the child for our benefit then?"

Juno didn't reply at first as she opened the device and saw numerous cryptic texts sent in order to communicate her. She scrolled down seeing the list of names. Various people from different walks of life were asking about the 'red file'. She saw some names from known organizations such as: Yakuza, El Diablo, St. Judas, and so on… there was a message too from an unnamed man with various messages such as inquiring something about whether the quirk could be taken or not. She decided to see each message later as the Yakuza one was also trying to make business with her regarding about Quirk suppression drugs. All of this lead to one thing.

Renewed interest after the 'red file' was found. Of which she had a copy of. The only copy that exists in the world. Juno then found and idea in her head.

She then turned to Zoraya and smiled.

"Get me the file Zoraya…" she said to the woman. She did as she said and handed the moderately thick in volume file towards her. Juno took it into her hands and thought about the chaos she could do if she handed this to everyone. True to form, it was a lie to Inko that everyone knew about this file. Which in itself was false on so many levels. She had a hand on that girl's fate and she would control every part of it starting from now. After reading the papers one by one again, she gave the file back into Zoraya's hands.

"It is up to us to guide little Izumi Midoriya's fate." She said with a nod and Zoraya understood.

Her eyes glowed in a blinding bright white light and the folder disintegrated into dust in mere seconds. Leaving nothing behind.

"I made my move. It is now Jade's turn to decide what comes next…" she said ominously.

* * *

"Jade… is that you?" All Might said.

Inko stood in front of Toshinori in fear and shock. She stepped back a bit until she tripped herself and fell, only for the man to gently pick her right in time before she fell to the ground. Her eyes were still neck deep in fear as Nemuri came near them. Toshinori still could not believe this was her. However, she was quivering in fear in his arms. Trying to pry herself away from him.

"G-Get away from me… p-please. D-Don't take me away! I beg you!" Inko said as tears began forming in her eyes again. Nemuri then came to her side and tried to calm her.

"Inko just breathe. Don't panic… he's just here for Izumi nothing more."

"H-Him? N-No… he'll take me away and take her..." she said in a weak and scared voice. Toshinori was at a loss for words as he saw the one woman that eluded her for the past few years seemingly reduced into this sad, pitiful state. He felt devastated at her condition. He never knew he felt this way for her, but seeing her now in this way made him feel guilty for her sorrow.

"Inko relax! I brought him here."

"Y-You brought him here? A-Are you going to take me away? Away from my daughter? Oh God. Please no... I-I still have so much to tell her… s-she's in danger…" Inko said in her delirium as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Toshinori felt the woman trying desperately to get out of his grasp. He did in fact and Inko scurried into Nemuri's arms. Her eyes still adept with the very fear that Toshinori was still trying to ascertain as to why.

Why was she like this?

What on Earth just happened for her to be like this?

"I-I need to see Izumi… I need to see her. S-She needs me." Inko said softly into Nemuri's arms as the woman held them tight. Nemuri patted her back in order to comfort her.

As much as Jade was a villain in her prime, he couldn't stand seeing her like this. After her disappearance, she hadn't shown herself since and the murders under her name had gone to zero. He was a hero through and through, and he would have taken her to the proper authorities given much thought to Jade's past. Yet, seeing her now didn't make any of his heroic persona shine to do such a thing. He actually felt sorry and pained to see her like this.

It also didn't help that this… this was Izumi's mother.

"Your name is Inko?" he asked in a gentle voice.

Inko looked at him, still the fear in her eyes maintained.

Toshinori then did the one thing that shocked everyone present. He deflated into his real form and looked at her. Showing her as a form of trust towards her. The both of them seeing each other in their weakened state now, a far cry from the cat and mouse routine they both experienced together in their glory days. Inko calmed herself as she saw him. The real him.

"My name is Toshinori… it's nice to properly meet you. After all this time."

He reached out with an extended hand towards her. She stared at it for a moment. Both processing if this was the right call. Kaguya and Nemuri watched at the sidelines. Even with the implications of this meeting, they were both astonished that two different people from both sides of the spectrum finally reunited again after years of not seeing each other.

It was oddly nostalgic when they both looked back at those days.

Afterwards they merely stared at each other as the moments passed…

* * *

16:20 Hours…

"How is she?" Toshinori asked as he sat on the living room of the Midoriya-Kayama household. The woman he once knew as Jade, now Inko Midoriya was still at a very vulnerable state. She finally calmed down after some convincing from Nemuri that the cause of his visit was not because he wanted to take her in. Though a part of him still pushed to do that, it had been drown out because of the concern he had with the woman and her child.

Whilst this happened, Kaguya had been helping Nemuri with trying to calm the woman down and easing her in for this more than needed meeting between them all. A lot of questions now were added to his retinue. A lot of implications as to who Izumi really was and the very fears he had with the familiarity he had with Izumi could may have been because he had already seen her before. His thoughts then went back to the night of the Aldera tragedy. How Inko was so afraid and scared for the both of them and his presence. He had not understood why she disappeared and never understood what actually went down there but now seeing that Inko was the mother of Izumi…

It only meant that the girl in her arms at that night, with the crimson hair was now his would be successor. He hated thinking that, as Inko herself implied to him on that night that all of this was because of the young girl herself.

"If you're asking how she is sir… I really can't get you an answer." Kaguya said as she sat across the man on a chair facing the couch he was sitting on.

"Has she stopped crying?"

"She has." Kaguya said as her bunny ears dropped slightly at the weight of this series of revelations. She supposed that her boss also felt the same way, possibly more so than her.

"Sir… can I ask you a question? Regarding all of this…"

"Go ahead." He said as he joined his hands together. The whole household was quiet. Nemuri and Inko were still in the latter's room. They hadn't left it yet and they both agreed to wait.

"Pardon me for being rude with this question sir, but I know you well enough to understand how you think and I know how much being a hero and the Symbol of Peace means to you. Yet, now that you have confirmed that the woman young Midoriya's mother is in fact the real and nefarious Jade… why did you not act appropriately?"

Toshinori asked himself the same thing over and over by the past minutes since they had arrived here. It was normal for Kaguya to ask these things. He trusted her with a lot of secrets and pretty much knew him inside and out by now. But the main thoughts in his head that tried to answer that question were a mess of jumbled emotions and afterthoughts.

"Have you seen the state she's in Kaguya? I don't think putting her to jail or calling the cops is going to help her at this stage. Plus, we're talking about Young Midoriya's mother here. If she grew up this way under her guidance then she may have changed a bit. Midnight trusts her, and I trust Midnight's judgement being that she is one of Izumi's guardians."

Kaguya didn't seem convinced. It was not that she didn't trust Midnight, nor didn't feel any pity or remorse for Inko's condition, but she did still feel that something was amiss. Also, he referred to her in a first name basis, which was odd since he always uses an honorific with every person he meets.

"I understand that wholeheartedly sir, but please… I know how you act in these situations when it comes to criminals under this same state and condition. You talk to them as if you were a friend and try to console them to change their ways. You also help them to settle in with the proper authorities, may it be to jail or a mental institution. But to her… you did the opposite. What makes the woman so special to you that you didn't even bother to do any of that?"

Toshinori looked at his assistant. She had a large point about this whole mess. He didn't even think and acknowledge how she would think with this, but there she was telling him what was strangely wrong about his feelings today.

And to be honest to himself, he didn't know too.

"I don't have an answer to you Kaguya. I don't know it myself." He admitted.

"Sir... it's not that I want to crucify and force the woman to be put in jail. I understand the situation right now and what it entails but I can't shake the feeling that you have more than a simple relationship with her. Jade was a very prominent part of your rogues' gallery correct?" she asked and he nodded. He was a bit fearful at what she was trying to imply to him.

"A very prominent part of your hero career as well. She may be the only person who has continuously escaped your grasp. I may even point out that she meant just as much to you as 'All for One' has in your-"

"Didn't I ask you not to say that name?" Toshinori suddenly said in a slightly higher and deeper tone in his voice. Akin to a warning. Kaguya nodded and continued.

"What I'm trying to say is sir. Why do you care so much for this woman? She isn't exactly the cleanest person when it comes to their conscience. I don't know much about her background but I do know she has a long list of deaths strewn in her record. I know even you aren't that stupid to think so carefully over serial killers. I've seen how you deal with such people… but to her..."

"I get your point. You don't need to rub it in." he said.

"Why sir? Why do you care for her?"

Toshinori asked himself that question again. His thoughts then returned to that very day they first met. On a bar in a hotel room, moments away from her doing one of her very first career kills.

_"Are you trying to flirt with me?"_

He pulled those thoughts away as he looked at Kaguya, still waiting for an answer from him.

"I still can't answer your question Kaguya. For the moment all I ask for you is to keep this between us four. This is about young Izumi for the moment. We're all here on her account. Let's not waste it on arguing what is good and wrong. Besides… I don't think taking Inko away from her child is the best decision to do right now." He said with a low and almost sad voice. Kaguya noticed it quickly and while she did agree that this meeting was on Izumi's behalf, she still couldn't believe what she was seeing in her boss right now.

"Sir, if I may… I don't think I've seen this side of you before."

"What do you mean?"

"The way you're acting differently… I don't think this is the heroic and boring single-minded All Might I know." She said with sort of a tease in her words. All Might slightly smiled at her.

"I'm not a robot Ms. Kaguya… I'm as human as everybody else." He said as they both smirked at each other. Their relationship was a lot like when Nighteye was still in his care, though it seemed Kaguya was more stiff and unrelenting in her work. Yet she had a caring side that people rarely see and this was one of those moments.

They suddenly heard a door open from the back of them.

Knowing what was to transpire in the next few minutes, the two of them had a quiet understanding with each other.

"All Might… a word?" Nemuri said as she gestured to talk to him. He looked back and stood up and walked towards her. Nemuri still had a very stressed out look and was barely keeping in her emotions.

"What is it?"

"She's decided to talk with you. Frankly, it seems there's more on her part that she needs to discuss in regards to Izumi."

"I hear you." He said and Nemuri then looked distant, at the very room down the hallway where Inko still hadn't come out of. He then wondered what it was about.

"All Might, I haven't seen her this way. Even when she came to me years ago… she hasn't been this broken before. I'm a bit scared at what she's been through, and what it means to Izumi."

"What do you mean? Where could she possibly have gone to, in order to- Oh…" he said and cursed himself for being an idiot. She would never have been this way if nothing bad had happened. Instead of asking, he figured he would let Inko to say it herself.

"I'll go get her. Just be ready. I don't want her to feel any less secure as she is already." Nemuri said as she walked back to Inko's room. Toshinori was left in place as he waited, he then went back to the couch with Kaguya.

"Did something bad happen?" Kaguya asked, her ears standing up a bit.

"I don't know, but the ways things are with Inko, I think there's more to this than we thought."

Kaguya was about to say something back when they heard footsteps again. Toshinori turned and saw Inko, calmer this time. Yet still on edge even with how calmer the atmosphere was. The moment he saw her however, he stood up and they both looked at each other.

Toshinori gave out a small smile to make her feel better. She only blankly stared, but she walked closer to him and they eyed each other face to face.

He still didn't know what she felt at that moment, and her in vice versa.

"H-Hard to believe it's actually you… Mr. Popular." She said with a slight teasing tone in her weak voice. She offered a small smile in return, the first one he saw on her face today. It made him feel better.

"Yeah well, time changes us. You don't actually look bad compared to me." He said as he scratched the back of his head. She smirked again and looked away. Kaguya observed the duo and made a conclusion in her head. It wasn't that obvious for now…

But there was definitely something there.

"At least you're just skinny you big lug. I'm… I don't even know what I am right now." She said as she turned away and sat on one of the living room chairs. Toshinori returned to the couch as he thought about what she just said.

_Neither am I right now…_

"Why exactly are you here? All-"

"Toshinori. I said call me Toshinori." He said as Nemuri settled beside Inko whom handed her a cup of warm coffee. Her favorite.

"Right… why are you here?" she asked him.

"I'm here on behalf of your daughter… we have a lot to talk about Inko. Specifically what to do moving forward… because I'm assuming whatever Izumi has is where everything started." He said now in a serious tone. Inko stopped sipping her drink and placed it back into her hands. Nemuri put a hand on top of hers.

"Y-yes… you can say that. Y-You haven't forgotten w-what happened that night."

"It hasn't left my memory ever since then… you left without a trace. What was I supposed to think?" he said with a small sarcastic smile, she only frowned.

"T-Thank you." She said weakly. It had been hard for her back then to say those words to anyone, with genuinely true diction and meaning. But today she was genuinely happy that they were there for her girl. Toshinori felt a little brighter after hearing her say thanks.

"We're all here for Izumi Inko… which is why before we get to the explanations, I want to ask what the hell happened to you." Nemuri interjected. All eyes were on her now as Inko sighed deeply to herself and placed her mug to the coffee table in the living room.

"I found something." She said, almost in a whisper.

"Izumi… she's in danger…" she continued.

Toshinori perked up when he heard that, in fact all three of them did when they heard her.

"From who?" he asked.

Inko started playing with her hands, a trait that Izumi also had whenever she's nervous.

"From everyone."

* * *

**THOOM!**

Debris of rubble and dust exploded into the air as a fist hit the floor. Inko sidestepped from the incoming shockwave. She landed on her feet safely as she saw the dust settle. The woman she talked to earlier, Nemain was smiling at her with that deviant grin. Her hands glowed in yellow electricity as her fists started giving off spurts of lightning.

A bloody stream came from her forehead as she wiped it. There were six of them, ready to kill her. Juno sat still on her chair as the others started circling her. She then started to concentrate hard to try and use her quirk in this area, only for nothing to happen. Which meant what Juno said was true, the whole damn place had a telekinetic dampener of sorts. She gritted her teeth in anger as she clutched her lighter. Her pyrokinesis wasn't that strong compared to others, she could only manipulate and strengthen existing flame sources but couldn't allow her to create her own. Still, based on the small descriptions Juno gave to her of each disciple she had, fire bordered on useless against them,

"Come on prove to me that you're more than what your reputation perceives you Jade! I haven't been in a proper fight for months!" Nemain said as she punched her fists together, the impact strong enough for air to make a small shockwave that everyone felt in the room.

Based on the force that hit her earlier to the wall, she ascertained that the woman she was facing had surreal amounts of super strength. The kind that would be close to All Might's capability, maybe even close. Fighting that kind of force head on was suicide.

"Don't stop and just think yourself to death! This isn't a hero and villain fight dearie!" a voice said as Bilquis suddenly appeared next to her and swiped at her with a large knife. Inko dodged in time but before she could get to safety, suddenly Sekhmet who leapt with such a speed above her grabbed her hair and pulled it smashing her to the ground.

"AGH!" Inko said she felt pain on her back.

These six were not kidding around, they were going to attack her relentlessly, forcing her to react not think of a strategy. She angrily thought of it as a clever tactic, but rushing her was proving to be effective. Luckily as the woman called Sekhmet held down her hair and Bilquis lunging towards her, she quickly put up her hand holding the lighter and turned it on in time.

Bilquis looked in shock as Inko grinned and an inferno ensued.

**FWOOOSH!**

Sekhmet tried to grab her hands but Inko, being faster she raised her feet and made a half somersault and grabbed the woman's head with her knees forcing her to pull all her weight and aim the woman at the inferno as well. Sekhmet screamed in pain as she was pushed back violently from the wave of heat. She landed on the other side of the room, steaming from the burns.

Before she could sit back up, Nemain suddenly came down upon her with hands on her throat. The force again from the impact hurt her so much that she was almost out of breath. She felt an iron taste in her mouth, thinking of it as blood.

"Got anymore there Ja-FUCK!" Nemain shouted as Inko spat on her face. Having a moment open to her, she head-butted her and kneed her in the stomach, effectively getting her off. Slightly dazed from the action she just did, she never noticed fast enough that a wave of what seemed like locusts was coming at her direction.

She opened her lighter to counter…

**BANG!**

The metal lighter was shot off her hand, the bullet grazing her fingers. She winced on the pain as the finger bled, only for her to see the wave of insects crashing down on her. She tried blocking with her arms as they attacked her relentlessly. It surrounded her completely as the six women watched around her. They walked closer towards the epicenter of the chaos, on edge for anything.

The whole room got quiet slightly except for the noise of the insects attacking her. Anansi, closed her mouth as the last wave of locusts left her mouth. She let out a hiccup as one rogue insect came out as well. Io had reintegrated her quirk back into her arms as the sniper-rifle construct deconstructed. Bilquis, having needed to dodge the wave of fire coming straight at her face, dismantled her body completely underneath her skin to force it to swerve. Now, she was reintegrating herself back to her whole form again. Her corrosive skin began to smoke the floor below her as she reformed. Sekhmet, now with anger-filled eyes stood up from where she landed as her claws elongated slightly and her fangs protruding. Zoraya stood guard in front of Juno who watched silently.

Then the swarm of locusts grew brighter and exploded. Revealing a scarred but still alive and well Inko, who was revealed to be holding a matchstick in her hands that blew out.

"Y-You said it yourself bitch… if you're going in blind, always have insurance." Inko said with a smirk on her face. Juno tilted her head in amusement.

The six women who attacked her then made themselves ready as the lights in the room began to flicker, Zoraya stepped in, her heterochromatic eyes glowing even with her mask on.

"Impressive, the initial attack that Nemain did wasn't enough to deter you. However, how would you do against a group effort?" Zoraya said as she lifted her hand and the lights in the room sputtered out to black. Making the entire place dark that no one could see.

Inko tried to turn on her sensory field, but the dampeners still hindered her ability to do so. She had no choice but to put on her mask. It would amplify her quirk a bit, allowing her a faint but useable albeit short distance sensory field. The light on her horn would help as well.

Putting it on, her senses sharpened slightly, allowing her a small field of range to detect any sort of movement within the darkness.

She steeled herself as she tried to consider what her options were, going on the offensive wasn't going to work here so she had to do something to turn the tide. The dampeners in this room were strong and even with her mask, they completely hindered her quirk's telekinetic abilities.

She suddenly sensed something coming her way.

It was a glowing yellow fist with an electric aura. She narrowly dodged it in time, only to be hit in the torso by another physically strong quirk user. She figured it was Sekhmet as she was slammed to the nearest wall, breaking some of the concrete there.

She groaned as Sekhmet held her in place, her eyes now glowing slightly in red with slit-like irises. Her tongue turned serpentine and her arms littered with scales and muscles. She spoke to her in an African dialect she didn't know, but the sound of it was akin to a curse.

Her hold on her was strong and Inko saw a ray of light being charged at her direction. It was blue in color and a laser pointer was aimed at her head. She tried reaching for her matches in her pocket, only to be subdued by Nemain on her left hand and Bilquis on her right. Bilquis' skin started to sting on hers, and that's where Inko realized that her quirk also gave her some sort of corrosive ability. Nemain's grip on her other hand was also obscenely strong, stronger than even Sekhmet's iron grip.

Then she felt her legs being held in place by what seemed like bugs and insects holding her whole body down. They had her cornered, on every part of her body.

There was no escape.

"That's it huh? You aren't that strong after all… maybe the rumors were false. Or maybe All Might has just been very… clingy with you. Oh, that makes me wonder did you and him-"

"Zoraya… now is not the time to say such things. However, if this is what you are capable of Inko Midoriya… then little Izumi isn't at all safe in your hands."

"S-She is!" Inko shouted.

"Really now? Then why are you stuck there, you told me you can handle any threat thrown at you if it meant the child's safety was on the line. However, I only see a bare bones woman, clinging to life there in mere moments before she dies. I asked you to prove to me that you can… but I see none of it now." Inko really hated that woman and everything she said that came out of her mouth was infuriating.

Juno still sat on her chair, from what Inko could tell. Beside her was that blue light, to which she figured it was the mute girl Io, the one closest to Izumi's age, her hands had transformed into a laser canon of sorts and she was still aiming it at her head.

"I swear… I will do anything to save Izumi… I-I am her mother and I'll do everything that I can to be there for her…" Inko said in between shallow breaths. The holds on her were getting stronger and she was now at the cusp of falling unconscious.

"You… a mother? Are you sure about that Inko Midoriya? Do you really consider yourself a role model person that guides that child to the proper path?"

"W-What do you mean?" she said. Juno simply laughed at her.

"Ask yourself and look back on all the times you really 'cared' for that girl. I am not a mother myself but I know and see what a real mother is like, and you? I don't see that at all. All I see is a woman protecting a girl as if it were an item, or an object to be protected. With no care for her feelings nor her heart." Juno taunted as she relaxed on her seat with a very pleased attitude. Inko tried to wrestle the feelings she felt at this moment and realized…

She realized only now... how Izumi must have felt.

_ "I-I… I hate you." _

Memories of her past came to fruit within her. Her own mother, how she cared for her as if she was the most precious thing. Even when her mother died, she remained with that love in her heart, into forever of the unknown after death. She on the other hand…

_"Get away! I-I don't want to see you." _

Inko started to realize it all…

_ "W-Why? Why do you hate my dream of being a her-*SMACK"_

_ Izumi's face was red after Inko's slap. An angry look at her face only made it worse for the girl._

_ "I told you. I don't want you to be part of that life! Do you understand me?"_

_ "B-But why?"_

_ She didn't respond, only dragging the small girl by the wrist as they went home…_

Inko started to tear up, much to the amusement again of Juno who relished in her victory.

"I-Izumi…" Inko said as her cheeks were now wet with tears. Her grip loosening, her will to fight back slowly drifting away.

"I hit the mark did I? So you admit it?"

"N-No…" she replied.

After all this time, she never really put much thought into her actions, and the one she vowed to protect after all these years was never safe against her. Inko was now left in the dark of her own mind. The horror of it all, the realization that she never understood at all what it meant to save that child. What it meant to be her 'mother'.

"A valiant effort Inko… but since you failed your test. I'll be sure to take young Izumi into my hands. She may even like me more than she does with you…" Juno said in finality.

A final nail in the coffin to the upturned sanity that Inko had left.

"I-I can't give her to you… y-you monster." She said with a shaky voice.

The woman never replied back, she only nodded to Zoraya to end it. The woman gladly smirked and gestured Io to finish the job. The canon turned on with a whir as it readied itself to fire at her. Inko was still reeling in with her broken feelings. There was no escape.

She would die here without even seeing her daughter.

Without even saying sorry for all the times she broke her. How she made her cry. How broken-

_Broken? Broken?!_

An idea flashed into her head and she moved her fingers as best as she can on the broken portion of the wall behind her back. She needed to do this at the precise moment. Focusing her head as much as possibly can towards the area of her back, she readied herself for what was to happen.

She wasn't down for the count yet…

At the same time, with no one noticing Inko's mask glowed bright green on her horn in conjunction with the activation of the Io's laser weapon. Suddenly, all hell broke lose…

**KRA-THOOM!**

An explosion of dust and debris flew everywhere, as the portion of the wall behind Inko exploded and managed to disrupt the trajectory of the blast. Nemain and Bilquis jumped back while Sekhmet who held Inko in place was thrown a few meters back. Remains of that section of the room was reduced to rubble as the seven women looked at the middle of it all. Zoraya lost focus with her quirk and the lights (whatever was left of them) returned to illuminate the entire area.

Inko was on her feet, her body tattered with cuts, bruises, and burn marks, her other arm broken from Nemain's hold who shattered a part of her arm from the reflex reaction towards the explosion. It was hanging as she put her other arm to hold it in place. Blood was on her scarred cheek as well as tears and sweat meshed with the dust in the air inside her mask. All in all, she was breathing hoarsely but all of them grew a bit nervous as shattering that part of the room destroyed some of the dampeners against her quirk.

Juno felt impressed.

"I-I am not going to die here… without seeing her." She said weakly but the glow on her horn was still brightly shining in green. Debris and other objects were levitating around her, and she stood her ground even in her bad state.

"You may have gotten some control over your quirk back, but that only works on that side of the room. You are still vulnerable to us six." Zoraya hissed.

"W-Wasn't my only plan sister." Inko said she slammed her foot on the ground and the entire structure of the room shook. Cracks started to appear on the walls and Zoraya as well as the rest including Nemain knew what she was trying to do.

Io transformed her hands into another ranged weapon, Nemain started to lunge towards Inko allied by Bilquis and Sekhmet. Anansi, opened her mouth and large black ants started to flood from her. Zoraya held out her hand and some of the brighter light sources in the room flickered as she absorbed it. They needed to rush her or she would bring the whole room down on top of them.

Inko remained standing as her desperate senses kicked in. Her adrenaline focused solely on making her stay alive, her brain kick starting plans on how to best deal with this. She had an idea, surprisingly thanks to the sudden and horrifying realizations regarding her girl. The only way to do deal with was to survive now.

And she was determined to see this through…

For Izumi…

* * *

Toshinori and Nemuri were shocked to hear what she just went through after Inko told them what happened. She told them everything, down to what transpired and how she got out of it narrowly. She started to tear up when she told them about what Juno had said about her and how she finally realized how terrible of a person she was to Izumi. Nemuri calmed her down and explained to All Might and Kaguya about Izumi's past. How they tried to use drugs to suppress her quirk and stop it from manifesting. They also made extreme measures to try and contain any indication that her quirk was trying to seep out of their reach.

Toshinori was shocked and surprised to hear it all from their mouths. The pain and torment Inko had to go through in order to hide this girl from everyone's prying eyes. He felt disgusted that she had to resort to less than solidary means but he understood well as to why. What he did fear after all this time however was given weight and truth in it, whatever happened in Aldera…

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said in order to calm her down from her soft sobs. Kaguya left to the kitchen to prepare them something to calm and soothe each and everyone's nerves. Inko had been trying to lay it down with everything she knew after her unfortunate 'visit'. She looked at him with a confused expression, still she could not believe that this was All Might that she was talking to right now.

"T-thank you… T-Toshinori, but I don't deserve it. I've done all I can all this time to try and save her. But from myself, I think I've only made it worse…"

"Inko… don't say it like that, you've done what you can to make sure Izumi is-"

"But it wasn't right! I-I tried to do my best as a mother and all I ended up doing is distance her away from me. Even if it was for her safety, I… I still did terrible things to her." Inko argued in tears. Her hands shaking.

Toshinori wanted to say something but he couldn't think of one. The woman was clearly distressed from all the things she's been through lately, and he couldn't blame her too.

"Juno was right… I only saw her as an item. Something to protect. Not something to care for."

"No… you're not! Listen to me. Izumi wouldn't be safe right now if it wasn't for your doing. Coming to my apartment the very day that shitshow happened has been the best decision for her life that you did. Don't you see? She wouldn't be where she is right now if it weren't for you." Nemuri said to her.

Inko didn't reply to that. Even with how Nemuri tried to argue against it, her thoughts were still transfixed to that mindset. She was far too gone right now to even argue against. The only thing that was keeping her from not talking to them was because of one thing, and Toshinori decided to open it.

"Inko, may I ask you one thing about… your daughter."

Inko knew where this was going and tearfully nodded at him.

"S-She was the one… who killed all of those people." She said with pain in her voice. Nemuri and Kaguya who just entered the scene went silent. Toshinori most of all felt uneasy as he heard it. His worst fears about that baby he saw that Inko was holding that night was Izumi.

And she was the reason why all of those people died.

He felt most of the pain inside him. As ever since that day he wanted to know what actually went down on that fateful night. Why so many innocent people died in a single blink of an eye, and he wanted to bring to justice and answer for the crimes whoever did such a thing. At first, he thought it was Jade, but the very instant she fled from him, he never saw someone who was guilty of such a massacre, only a fearful woman trying to escape in desperation. Now knowing the truth, he swallowed a hard truth.

A truth he did not wish to hear nor acknowledge.

But there were no lies there…

No cover ups… nothing. The very innocent and sweet heroic child that wanted to be a hero so badly, the same child that rooted her way into his heart…

Was the killer that everyone was trying to find to answer the crimes of that night…

This same girl, was also his choice of becoming the successor of 'One for All'. The next Symbol of Peace. It was all absurd. It sounded stupid and undeniably true at the same time.

But it was the truth, complete… unbiased truth.

And he was having conflicted thoughts on what to do now…

On one hand, he knew it wasn't the girl's fault, she was a baby and everything that happened was an accident. On the other…. He dared not to think about it. he was now close to ripping the hair out of his head when he tried to think of this. The reality of Izumi's situation.

How it all fits…

He just couldn't believe it, and he was now starting to have thoughts whether fate was literally fucking with him when he met the girl. It pained him to see that the source of his biggest failure in life was now in front of him all this time.

A tear escaped his eyes.

What was he to do?

"Sir?" Kaguya said in worry. He was so silent and filled with so much pain and conflict right now that they all felt it. He was holding his head tightly with his small frame in this form of his. He then stopped and looked at Inko straight in the eye. His eyes were now red and watery.

"Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you come to me damn it?" he shouted at her, Inko was taken back by his outburst, her already weak will was being forced down again.

"I… I had no choice." She said in reply.

"If you would have asked for my help. This wouldn't have happened! You wouldn't need to go through all of that alone… I would have- Damn it Jade! Why did you need to run from me? I only wanted to help you. I've always wanted to. Now… I don't know what to do!" he said, Nemuri stepped in to break their fight. Kaguya tried to hold him back.

"What was I supposed to do All Might? Give her to you people? What would the world think about the girl that killed all of those people? Tell me, what would they have done to Izumi and her quirk huh? What would happen when you heroes know what she did and what she's capable of? E-Even if you did try to save her, what good will it do then? She would be hated by everyone… and I did the best I can to try and stop that. That's why I hid her… that's why she's suffering now…" Inko said as she clearly still blamed herself for what happened.

Toshinori felt each and every word she just said and drew his anger back. Seeing Inko in tears again after how broken she was now only consolidated much to the guilt he felt. He needed to turn this around. As much as he was conflicted with his thoughts, it didn't mean that

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to shout." He said.

"It doesn't matter… this all happened because of me after all." Inko said to herself.

"Not it doesn't. Remember what Nemuri said… you were the single best reason why she's alive today. You're right, even if it was me, I don't know how much I can do to solve all of this…"

Nemuri and Inko looked at each other.

"T-Toshinori? You don't need to blame yourself. It's not your fault. None of us would have known at all, and even though I am much to blame here… the only important thing we need to do right now is protect her. She's far too special and precious to be left alone and if what that woman in Italy told me is to be believed, she's in danger. Everyone now knows of her, all of them and since they saw her face on the news with her quirk in action… she's bound to be hunted." Inko gravely said.

Toshinori became wide-eyed when he heard this, Kaguya as well with Nemuri whom all felt the increasing problems rising another tenfold with Izumi's situation. Even with his conflicted thoughts right now, he didn't want the girl to be left with such a fate, and if his hunch was true then **He **could be one of those people out there that would want her. He had to do something.

"Look, the reason I'm here at all is because of young Izumi. Being that I was the one responsible for her being put in public like that, I have the right to be worried and concerned for her safety. That… and because I was planning to make her my successor…"

Inko suddenly looked confused.

"S-Successor?"

"Inko, I think you need to hear this, this is one of the reasons why we waited for you to arrive and make this decision. I didn't want to make this decision for Izumi, but she seems eager to see this through." Nemuri said to her friend.

"W-What's going on?"

"It's time I told you what my quirk is… because this also involves Izumi, I believe you have the right to know as well."

* * *

Inko looked far more concerned with what was to happen. Then he explained it all to her. The history and everything there was to know about his quirk. Down to the users it was passed on to, and the man it came from. He explained it all in full detail as well as what went down on that day he met the girl. Inko was silent during the whole ordeal but an anxious look was strewn on her face.

He ended with what happened on that last disastrous training they had on Dagobah Beach, added by Nemuri who told her every known new information about Izumi's quirk so far. Even the ones that were written on her notes as well as the ones she told Toshinori and Kaguya about.

"T-This is… this is too much to think about." Inko admitted as she put a hand on her chin.

"I know, but do acknowledge that I'm doing the best I can for her, and because this is her choice to begin with I'm not forcing her on anything."

Inko smiled slightly at him, making him feel a bit less anxious inside.

"That's good and all… but I'm not sure about this inheritance thing and y-you told me everything she was able to do with her quirk during my absence… right?"

They all nodded.

"Then it's even worse than I imagine. H-How much people has she come in contact with?"

"If I may Madame Inko, what does this have to do with anything?" Kaguya interrupted. Inko looked at all of them and tried to recall all the information she got from that red file.

"Juno has a file… a red file, and it is the only link to Izumi's past that exists. It's the only solid piece of information that dates back before the events of the Aldera Tragedy. It's a detailed file about observations regarding her quirk, I don't know who wrote it, but it has almost everything in regards to how much depth her quirk has."

She then turned her attention to All Might.

"You told me about your quirk… then I have reason to believe that your quirk is almost similar to hers. Only this time, with how much untapped potential Izumi has… I believe it is also stronger."

Toshinori, Nemuri, and Kaguya's expressions deepened in fear.

A quirk… stronger than 'One for All'? Nemuri felt that it was possible that Izumi's quirk was strong but for it to be THAT strong? It was absurd and downright comical to think about it.

"What makes you say that? And why did you ask how much people young Izumi has come in contact with?" Toshinori asked, no concern draped across his face.

"This pertains to everything T-Toshinori. That night in Aldera, Izumi never simply killed all those of people. Y-You said your quirk is cultivated and passed on through each user, adding their own… q-quirks into one consolidated powerhouse right?" Inko asked with a weak and fearful voice.

"Inko, you don't mean to say that everything affected by her quirk is- Oh no…" Nemuri said in realization that started to creep into the minds of all of those present.

"I-It's as bad as you think… I-I was horrified about it myself. T-To think that Izumi, and the way I treated her… I can't-" Inko started crying, Nemuri tried to console her but to everyone's surprise, Toshinori buffed up into his All Might form and stood up, flashing his iconic smile.

"You did the best thing you could do. No one here is blaming you for everything. You are Izumi's mother Jade. Remember that. You are the one who made that decision to take her in knowing the risks she had with her and no one is going to take that away from you."

Inko sniffed and retracted her hands quickly, though she smiled a bit at him.

"T-That damn smile of yours… I-I still hate it." Inko said as it gave a small levity in the heavy situation. Nemuri was still anxious but Toshinori was right, there was no need for anyone to blame themselves, this was Izumi they were talking about and her matter has become very pressing.

"Well likewise on how you tie your hair, it doesn't suit you at all." He teased back. He then sat back to his seat alongside Kaguya who was strangely smiling at his disposition, he didn't think anything of it and returned to the matter at hand. Inko took a deep breath and tried to continue.

"What I'm trying to say is… Izumi's quirk which was dubbed by the file as: 'Agony's Embrace' is a powerful quirk that consumes and copies anything it touches. Anyone who has ever been hit by this quirk is consumed into her own. This applies to yours as well… and based on what you told me. We have another problem in play, because as of now…"

"…She has all the quirks of all the people she's consumed in her life… even the people who died fourteen years ago." Toshinori finished and that sentence alone made everyone in the room shiver. Now he understood why he lost control slightly with 'One for All', it was being consumed though it wasn't taken whole, it still meant that Izumi right now had 'One for All' coursing in her veins, which is why the drawback on her after that training incident was harsh and strong. Letting her to lose a lot of blood in the process. To everyone's horror, they began thinking how and what this means for them going forward.

Nemuri stood up from her seat and began pacing around with a distressed and angry expression. Inko then laid down everything that the file had on Izumi's quirk and with each new revelation, it was paramount to them how dire this situation was. She finished as Inko told them about the effects Izumi's quirk had on her frail body, telling them that the drawback increases further the more quirks she consumes in herself, and she was brought into a saddened state again when she told them that the way she was using her quirk now was ultimately leading her closer to her own self-demise.

The gravity on Izumi's problems reached to critical levels. Even Kaguya, the steely assistant was reduced to an anxious state. Toshinori even with his buffed form was forced to frown on what was at stake. Nemuri continued pacing.

"T-This can't be real… who even wrote that file? Izumi can't be that strong, it's just so hard to believe. Even if it was written by who you said it was, we don't know if this is real."

"Are we really risking that Midnight? Even I don't want this to be true, but if all of it is and we don't have the proper action to place with this knowledge then we're no better than the people out to find her." Toshinori said as he saw Inko.

"What should we do? This isn't something that people nor the Pro Heroes would believe at short notice, much less trust since we have a retired villain here who is one of the most wanted persons back then as well as a child who massacred thousands of people fourteen years ago. We don't have a lot of options here." Kaguya exclaimed, they were surprised that the outburst came from her since she was the least one that was active with this conversation, but the amount of problems stockpiling here forced her hand. Nemuri thought of the same.

"She has 'One for All' too right now. She doesn't even know it yet, and if what you told me is true in regards to how her quirk functions then having two powerful quirks in her body will rip her apart if she isn't given the proper training. I'm afraid to say that it could be another option that will also kill her."

"You can't believe that! Izumi can't have that much power! I refuse to believe it All Might." Nemuri spat back and the room went to a discord of arguments between Nemuri, Toshinori and Kaguya. Who all argued on what to do as things went dire as each new second and minute passed. With the added threat of villains knowing her quirk, it added to the horror of the situation they were in, of which little to no choices were left for them that was viable.

Juno's words rattled Inko's mind like a siren pulling her to temptation.

_"It's no longer safe for her… now that the secret is out. So I ask you one more time, being the safest bet for your daughter, will you give her to me?"_

The bad part was, the woman was the sanest choice. Looking at what was happening now, her predictions were slowly becoming a reality.

But no… she chose this route. No matter the risks it took. She was determined to see it through, and if her daughter believed then she needed to as well. She had to set aside everything she believed in and do something now for her daughter.

"E-Everyone… hear me out." She said and all the attention was brought back to her.

Inko then asked Nemuri to get her purse which was still placed on the kitchen table along with her trolley bag beside the chair. Nemuri did as she asked as the whole room calmed down again. The tension lessening as Nemuri brought her bag to her hands.

Gingerly moving her hands towards the box she tried to take out when she first arrived home, she held it and tore out the wrapper with her fingers as best as she could with her free arm. Nemuri and the others were surprised to see that it was a box containing an All Might Action Figure. Nemuri recognized the figure herself, invoking a past memory that she wondered why Inko tried to exhume.

She held it in place and smiled bitterly.

"Did you know that she idolized you so much All Might? Down to the very last detail you do, to how you acted, to how heroic you were in saving the day. Izumi adored you, she adored you more than she adored me…"

Toshinori didn't react yet, but the pain in her voice was apparent.

"I-I remember the first day she laid her eyes on you as a baby. D-Do you remember Nemuri?" Inko tearfully said to her best friend who was there for her and Izumi all these years.

"Yes… I remember." She replied.

"She tried imitating your pose as well as that damn smile of y-yours…" Inko continued, the image of Izumi doing that as a three-year-old gave a sense of happiness into her well-being, though it was replaced with the fear and anxiety she felt when Izumi first did that.

"I-I never wanted her to be part of this life. T-That's why I tried stopping her from hoping… from believing in you heroes. B-because I was afraid the day would come that someone would take her and s-share the same fate as me. I-I didn't want that."

Nemuri could feel the guilt seeping from her, she then placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't want the world to know the truth, I didn't want the world to hate her like how they hated me… w-which is why I did my best to d-destroy her dream. I-I… I'm sorry, I just wanted her safe." She said to herself as she began sobbing again, tears dripping down the box of the action figure.

"W-Which is why I made my choice. I came back here knowing that it was a risk. Knowing that it was a gamble, but for Izumi's sake I choose to believe in you now All Might. To believe in heroes again. I'm back here because I chose you people to help me protect her."

Toshinori and Kaguya's eyes widened.

"Izumi believes in you and puts her faith in you people, so I'm doing the same. I-I put my faith in you most of all All Might. Y-You wanted to help me back then and I refused, now in m-my hour of need I ask you to help my daughter. You're the only man left I trust to protect her."

Standing up he clenched his fists.

"You can count on that." He said with conviction. Kaguya stood up as well and bowed to Inko, with the same look of determination in their eyes.

"Allow me to be sorry for you ma'am. Though I still do not trust you completely, your daughter is a precious thing to me in the short time we've met so far. You can count on me as well to make that promise a reality." The bunny-eared woman said. Nemuri also squeezed her shoulder with a worried but determined smile.

"I've already staked so much when I took you both in, but I'm willing to see this to the end. Like always Inko, you can count on me." Nemuri told her and Inko smiled back.

With the gratitude of each person in the room compiling, Inko finally and tearfully smiled in thanks. Now all they need to do was think about what was the plan moving forward. They had to agree on one thing with the girl and they needed to think fast.

Time was of the essence.

"Where is young Izumi by the way Midnight?" All Might asked.

They then heard a rustle of keys and the front door of the apartment opening, revealing a dressed up Izumi who came from a day out with her friends. Her red hair and cheerful face was there for all of them to see. She was going to say something to her aunt when she opened her eyes and saw who was in the apartment.

Her smile dropped when she saw who was in.

* * *

"I-Izumi…" Inko weakly said to her daughter who was still in disbelief at what she was seeing, as well as the state her mother was in. Izumi stood their frozen still, her eyes gazing at her mother.

"Mom?"

Inko then stood up hastily, almost tripping herself as she rushed herself towards her daughter. The atmosphere awkward enough as it is, Toshinori and the rest were quiet as the scene unfolded. Giving Izumi some thoughts as to what was happening. Strangely enough to the girl, her mother was holding a packaged All Might action figure in her free hand as she came near to her.

She then started asking various questions as to how she was, if she was alright, and so on…

The girl was in disbelief still as Inko checked her.

"Mom… why are you here?" Izumi said with a straight face.

"I-I came home. I was worried for you s-so I rushed the fastest flight here to-" she was stopped when she tried to caress her crimson hair, only to be held in place by Izumi's hand.

"Mom. What are you doing?" she said again. Inko felt pain course into her emotions as she withdrew her hand from her.

"I came to see you h-honey to see if you were alright. I-I missed you." She said weakly at her with dried up tears in her cheeks. Izumi didn't flinch.

"Since when do you say things like that?" Izumi harshly said as her eyes were now full of sadness, confusion, and anger in them. Toshinori looked like he wanted to intervene, but he knew he would only make it worse.

"H-Honey… I'm just here t-to say sorry."

"SORRY? Sorry for what? Why the hell are you saying sorry to me after all this time? You don't even say 'I love you' to me at all and now you're saying sorry?" Izumi spat back.

"Izumi!" Nemuri warned, but the girl didn't care. Inko held the figure's box in her hand as her hands slightly shook because of the manner of mood they were in with her daughter.

"I-I'm sorry." Inko said weakly again. The girl on the other hand was in disbelief, thoughts of something different were in her head and she tried to piece out what was happening before her, why All Might was here, why her aunt was there too. She believed her mother was trying to stop her yet again…

With her dream of being a hero.

"Unbelievable mom… Aunt Nemu asked me to believe in you and now I see this. Y-You were no different before than you were back then. You hate my dream as much as you hate me. Take your sorry. I'm sick of it." she said in angry tears as she forcefully slapped the box out of her mother's hands and stormed out towards her room. Leaving a tearful Inko who heard her daughter's room slam shut. She slowly wilted in place and cried softly.

The others who were there to witness it all were silent. Kaguya didn't know what to react, with the amount of pent up frustration the girl had they all couldn't blame her. Nemuri was almost in tears as well as she tried to steel herself.

"I-I'll go and try to talk to her." She said as she walked out of the room towards Izumi's room.

Toshinori deflated into his true form and walked towards Inko, sitting next beside her as he put his arms around her. The woman continued to cry even in his presence but he did the best he can right now to comfort her.

With everything they learned today it was all he can do to ease them out of this predicament.

For darker days still lay ahead…

END OF CHAPTER 6

* * *

**AN: Jeez, this was a hard chapter to write. I had to do revisions, rewrites, and lots of changes to it after having a hard time trying to decide what to put and what not put. I settled on a version I was most satisfied with (which isnt saying much) but at least it didn't go as long as it originally was. **

**Oh and to address a few things that needed to be pointed out, with the issue of Corona virus as it is now the country that Juno is in, which is Italy was not meant to mean anything at all, it was just a coincidence right now that the virus has taken a large beating towards the people there. I hope for you the best to all of you Italians as well as the other neighboring countries too as we all take a stand against this illness.** **No country is safe right now from this menace so I can only hope the best for all our safety, even you my dear readers. I hope you are doing well.**

**Also, like I said earlier back a few chapters, romance will not be focused this early in the story and the issue with All Might and Jade here is because I patterned their relationship along the lines of Batman & Catwoman as well as Spider-Man & Black Cat. They have something there that's true but putting a sudden drop of them dating at this stage of the story is stupid and unwarranted. I'm gonna have to build this up like the rest of the characters moving forward. Hints are still there to see, but that's it for now...**

**Lastly, while the bread and butter of Izumi's Quirk is revealed, there's more to what Inko said that I left out intentionally. The rabbit hole doesn't stop there yet in terms of what she can do that I'll slowly explore in the future. The ending to that Jade vs Juno's disciple's flashback is also intentionally cut there since there is something more to how it ended that ultimately left Inko to her sad state as it is now. **

**Hope you are all enjoying the ride so far as I take my time with each release. This also marks as two chapters left before the Entrance Exam! Thanks for reading so far and I hope you leave a review or two if able... ;)**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Hard-Earned Vindications**

**\- Izumi and Inko try to make up as best as they can. Toshinori alongside Nemuri and Kaguya try to piece together a plan to ensure Izumi's safety as she discovers more and more about her quirk with each training and guidance. The Aldera Memorial Day ceremony begins as people mourn the losses of the past with Izumi and her friends pledging themselves as heroes in honor to that. After that, the road to the ten months leading to the UA Entrance Exam starts.**


	9. SideStory 2: Agony's Embrace

Sidestory #2

"Agony's Embrace"

She could hear cars and people moving around and about. The night sky was clear, and everyone seemed to be in their own businesses as the night progressed. Her environment was slightly noisy all around her, typical night life in a city was bare for her to see. She looked around in the middle of a semi-familiar street. Yet it seemed very different and vastly older than what she sees it now. Looking around she could see vendors, people walking here and there, nightclubs open with people her age socializing, and a few public transports (namely taxis) moving like it normally was.

_**Where am I?**_

She walked towards a nearby appliance store, the windows revealing the various TV sets littered for the eye can see. Various random programs that ranged from actual TV presentations and recorded videos were being shown as she gazed by the window. She immediately caught wind of one TV that broadcasted news about All Might saving a group of people from a sinking ship down in the Mediterranean Sea. Wondering what day this was or if it was even new footage at all since the suit All Might was in was the transition costume in between his Golden Age and Silver Age.

Trying to decipher more on what she was seeing, she then heard what seemed like the wailing of a small child. She looked around to try and see it and saw a small boy crying in the middle of the sidewalk as people passed by. No one even dared to come near him at all.

He was crying out loud while holding a small action figure in his hand.

She then started wondering where any pro heroes or police officers were at that moment since normally that child would have been taken into their custody to find their parents by now. It was odd too that nobody seemed to notice the crying child of which was trying to find his mother. People passed him by like he wasn't there, and the increasing sobs was making her uneasy.

Deciding that she would help the child, she took a deep breath and walked to his direction. The child continued to cry with his already dirty-looking blue shirt and brown shorts as she approached. His cheeks red from all the tears he made and his eyes yearning for a sense of comfort in the chilly night. The boy saw her as she leaned closer to him.

_**Are you alright?**_

The boy was shy at first and wasn't saying anything to her. She understood how he felt, even now with how nobody was trying to pay attention let alone help him, he would be cautious to who it was that talked to him at that moment. She tried smiling to him and the boy stared at her.

_**Are you lost?**_

He nodded slowly as he clutched that figure in his arms. She smiled again at his disposition and offered her hand towards him. With an encouraging and friendly look.

_**Come on, I'll help you find your mommy. I'm sure she's worried about you.**_

The boy nervously took hold of her hand, as she leaned in and tried to clean him as best as he can. Fixing his hair, stretching his clothes and finishing up, she took the boy's hand and started to walk together with him. She was going to do her best to find the child's mother or find the nearest pro hero or officer to help him.

As she was thinking about it while walking, the boy suddenly stopped and she looked back.

_**You're scared, aren't you?**_

The boy nodded. She sighed with a smile and tried to find a place in the street they were in that had less people so that the boy won't be nervous. Finding a spot where she assumed he would be comfortable the boy then pulled on her clothes.

_**What is it?**_

The boy held on her hand tightly.

_**I-I'm scared… I want my mommy.**_

She held the boy's hands and thought of ways to ease him. She found and idea and did her best All Might impression she could muster, smile and all.

_**If you're scared or nervous about something, deal with it by smiling.**_

The boy continued to stare at her, intensely this time. She cursed herself, it didn't help at all. As she was trying to make up for her initial failure (what a hero she was), she then saw the kid having a sideways glance at something in another direction. She wondered what he was looking at, her concern winning over her senses around her environment as it seemed like all noises stopped. Everyone in the whole street, maybe the whole city halted to a stop.

_**Is there something wrong?**_

The boy then pointed his finger towards the opening in between buildings where the night sky was seen. She wondered what he was pointing at, since nothing was there.

A thunderous roar was heard. A large spire of red electrical energy surged into the sky. Far stronger, far deadlier than anything she had ever seen before. The Lightning had shot up tremendously high that everyone saw it with their own eyes. She stood there in awe, then in fear when a wave of violently pulsing red energy suddenly emerged from the source of the cataclysm. Shattering all glass surfaces as far as the eye can see with each place it hit in quick fashion.

She stood there in fear as she held the boy's hands.

When the wave reached their position, she grabbed the boy into her arms and shielded him from the impact. They both fell to the floor as strangely, it seemed like she never felt anything. But everything around her was suddenly in chaos. People screamed left and right, cars began racing on the road, and a stampede full of people emerged from the streets. Rapidly trying to run away from the incoming doom. She held the boy in her arms as he pressed himself on her.

It was pure utter chaos. Everywhere was in cinders, both figuratively and literally. The rapid acceleration from peaceful to something apocalyptic overwhelmed her completely. Standing up she carried the boy into her arms and tried to run away from the terror.

As much as she tried to run, her legs it seemed weren't running as fast as she can. She then in quick second dodged herself and the boy when a rogue car almost ran them over. The car crashed on the TV store she was just in and suddenly exploded on contact. Killing the people around it as well as the driver. She opened her mouth in shock when everywhere, anywhere she laid her eyes on, there was no place that was remotely safe.

Everyone was running and screaming, a nearby construction site had some of its workers fall on the ground and dying on impact. One such worker fell on the pavement next to her.

Her mind was at a complete disarray. She was now fearful of her own life as well as the child in her arms as she cradled him close. But no, even with what was happening she had to prioritize in saving the kid first. She had to do something amidst this.

But what was she going to do? Why were there no pro heroes yet?

Then she saw it unfold again in her eyes. The night sky which was filled with stars was now colored in stark, blood-red crimson. Then the impossible happened. Red lightning began razing everyone from the sky, hitting people in the head as they screamed in a paralyzed and agonizing state. The torrents of electric discharge was everywhere and it was coming close.

She ran. Ran as fast as she can as everything around her was being pulled into hell. The screaming never stopped and it rattled her hearing so much that she was apologizing for all of those who were suffering. She was panicking now, almost close to tears as she had no idea what to do.

Where was All Might?

The red lightning rained down like a hungry storm. Hitting everything in its wake. She even passed a mother and a baby struggling in one of the corners, the energy hitting them relentlessly. All manner of people were being struck as she closed her eyes and hoped for something… anything to save them.

The boy was now crying in her arms as she steeled herself to never lose hope.

As she ran and ran she saw an underground walkway entrance. Running as fast as her legs could take her, she bolted and unhappily pushed everyone away around her in desperation and then leapt into the floor of the tunnel. People were scrambling here and there around her but she shielded the boy into a corner and hoped that nothing would happen to them both. She felt people kicking, crashing, and bumping into her as she shielded the boy as best she can in the middle of it all.

Hoping…

Hoping that it would all end.

_**I want my mommy…**_

The boy was now crying as she tried to calm him down. She felt tears in her cheeks as the chaos continued. Then the worst happened, trapped in the corner with hundreds maybe thousands of people around them, they couldn't move and she heard people screaming after being struck by the red energy in their heads. She looked at the child.

_**I want my mommy! I'm scared!**_

She tried her best to comfort and silence him. Her eyes tearing up at the inevitability of it all. This was the end, she clutched the boy's hands as tight as she can to relieve him some of the incoming pain that was going to strike them. She kissed his head.

_**It's going to be alright. I'm here… I'm here…**_

The boy looked teary-eyed at her presence as the energy finally came to them, striking the boy in the head as she watched in horror. Screams filled the air as she looked at the boy, who was incoherently crying amidst all of this.

_**I-It hurts… H-Help me…**_

She closed her eyes to pray that the pain was quick, only to open them and see that suddenly it was eerily quiet again. Then as she stared upon everyone who seemingly stopped in their tracks, something horrible happened. She was about to ask the boy something when-

**SPLAT!**

His innocent and scared face along with the entirety of his head exploded in front of her. The leftover innards were now on her face. Blood dripping from her cheeks as the recoil of pure shock and awe was left in her horrified face. No words could express what she just witnessed. She looked around and saw that blood and headless bodies were scattered everywhere.

There was silence.

Nothing… but silence.

Strangely finding the will to stand and walk with the headless in boy in her arms, she left the tunnel and saw the entire city in a gruesome state. The night sky went back to its peaceful state. Like nothing ever happened and silence seen all around was eerie…

Horrific.

The kind of silence that was in a peaceful night, only in reality it was not.

She walked in the middle of the street. Holding the boy's corpse. Her face emotionless. The fear in her boundless. She stopped and collapsed on the ground after finally giving up. She placed the headless boy on the pavement. As she saw her surroundings. The quiet that ate away her sanity.

Every crevice of her vision on where she looked at was filled with images of headless corpses, bloodied streets, and dead people. All dead… all gone…

Her mouth opened agape. She didn't know what caused this. Her mind in shambles.

She was going to scream when she started hearing a collection of disembodied voices.

_** Murderer!**_

_** GUILTY!**_

_** Fiend!**_

_** GUILTY!**_

_** Demon!**_

_** You killed us all! **_

_** GUILTY!**_

She looked around trying to find the source, nothing was there. Suddenly, the bodies around her, all of them disappeared. The hairs on her arm stood up when she saw that the headless corpse had a hand grabbing her arm.

Her eyes widened. Then to her horror the headless body sat up.

_**YOU KILLED US ALL!**_

She tried to scream in fear but for some reason her voice didn't come out. She tried backing away when she suddenly blinked and saw the headless bodies standing around where she sat. Completely surrounding her was all the dead in that city. One in particular had a gun-like appendage that had a tube coming from his body.

She looked on in horror. Her senses didn't know what to do. She was surrounded, completely and utterly surrounded.

Then the headless corpses moved. Pointing a finger towards her direction in a sick and gruesome synchronization. Blood then started to well up from the headless stumps of their body and was filling in the pavement towards her. The headless boy in particular aimed his bloody stump towards her face as she powerlessly held her down.

Then the blood was thrown at her. She tried to scream again, but no voice came out. Nothing, she could only experience the horror right in front of her as it progressed… slowly and surely. Ebbing away her conscience as time seemingly slowed down like a sludge.

Hands of those headless corpses around her then slowly tried to cover her all over.

Having nothing to do or anything to fight back, she closed her eyes and hoped it will end.

Suddenly it went silent again. Opening her eyes, she saw a black void around her. She saw nothing but a mirror in front of her. She fearfully walked towards the mirror and saw her reflection. It wasn't her. It was a dark red entity in the shape of a girl alike her. She had two long protruding horns on her head with a darker shade of crimson hair. The entity looked at her and with every move of her body it did the same as well. She never felt fear nor a hint of any antagonistic quality from it, yet she wasn't comfortable at all. Without her doing, her hand was placed on the mirror.

Then from the surface the mirror pooled like a stream of water, out of it came the entity's hands that grabbed her slowly towards her as she emerged from the mirror. Then out of it she heard screams. The same screams from earlier, but for some reason this time she felt nothing. She clearly felt fear but her body was moving and reacting on its own. She tried to stop herself, but her body didn't cooperate until those hands of that entity along with the voices embraced her fully.

_**AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**_

She then opened her eyes again…

It was an empty void yet again, only this time she saw small lights… no, eyes that were watching her. She was tearing up, wanting to end this suffering. Wanting to end… this agony.

She sobbed as the eyes watched.

Then she saw herself, her body and her hands looked different. Then she realized with steady hands that she had horns. Meaning, she was now in the body of that entity she saw in the mirror. She tried to scream again as cries and screams of the damned from that horrific experience in that city-like vision was heard. She cried.

She didn't want to be this… thing.

As she sobbed, she heard footsteps. She felt eight eyes staring into her. Their presence felt like a beacon of hope. A feeling of comfort, and so she stopped sobbing. She lifted her head and saw them each. Formless entities with glowing eyes were watching over her. She caught wind of one of them and saw what looked like the real form of All Might. She looked confused but her transgressions and feelings of fear, agony, and hate were gone. She only felt peace, like an aura of light shining down on her like a spotlight.

Then her appearance changed… back to her normal self.

She then saw one of the figures kneel down to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and wiping her tears away. The figure looked feminine and her outline made her look like she had a cape, but her comforting presence made her feel safe and secure. Like nothing bad had ever happened.

Then the figure embraced her.

It felt peaceful… and tranquil. All the horrors of the past moments were gone in a wisp.

After separating from her, the figure then made out what seemed to be a smile and they spoke, as if the eight figures were one voice. Lights of different colors moved around her. She watched them glow and circle her, she finally smiled after the spotlight on her brightened and the figure still smiling down on her.

_**Wake up… Izumi Midoriya **_they said in unison.

Then the light enveloped her and she opened her eyes, for real this time and sat up.

It was morning and she was in her room. Izumi Midoriya had just woken up from the most craziest dream. Not knowing what to feel nor react, she placed her feet on the floor of her bedroom and stood up. She felt a renewed feeling in her chest and body.

Like something great just happened.

With a confused smile, she opened her bedroom door and walked slowly through the hallways of her home. She was still baffled at what she just saw in her dream, thinking to say this to someone else she strode into the kitchen.

Finding Nemuri preparing tea for herself.

She stood in the doorway and then saw an All Might figure package placed on the table at the end of it. Memories of the night before then came back to her as well as the action figure the boy had on her dream.

"Izumi… y-you're up so early honey. What's wrong?" Nemuri suddenly said, having noticed her on the doorway. Izumi didn't respond to her question, only asking one from hers in return.

"Where's mom?"

TO BE CONTINUED ON CHAPTER 7: HARD-EARNED VINDICATIONS

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**AN: I finished another one! That was an exhilarating ride to write this short escapade. I had to listen to a certain track from the War of the Worlds OST to make me inspired for this. It turned out great on my book. hehehe...**

**As usual leave a follow and review guys! I hope you enjoyed this and see ya again next time!**


	10. VII Hard-Earned Vindications

**AN: Sorry for the slight delay. This just had to be done slow, so to compensate with it, this chapter is a bit longer for your reading pleasure... **

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VII. Hard-Earned Vindications

Kaguya had placed a cup of tea and coffee via a tray she found in Nemuri's household. On the kitchen table were three of them, her, Toshinori, and Nemuri who was massaging the temples of her head after a long and arduous day of revelations, tears, and unseen reunions. Inko had been lifted up by Toshinori out of the floor moments earlier as she passed out in his arms. Nemuri told her where her room was and he tucked her to bed. She had experienced far too much today and Toshinori couldn't blame her for her actions nor feelings with this much baggage after everything she experienced in the last few days. He left after making sure that she settled in well. Nemuri on the other hand, never did convince Izumi to come out, the door to her room locked completely and she didn't want to barge in like that in this state. They eventually decided to leave the two alone for the time being.

Ending where they were now. It had been close to being late at night already.

Toshinori had in his hands the packaged All Might figure, he looked at it like it was the most important thing in the world, though a pang of sadness was brought with it as well. Nemuri sipped her tea and put her elbow on the table, resting her head on her palm. Kaguya took a seat as well and took the last cup of coffee from the tray.

"Didn't think it was this bad…" Toshinori commented as he stared at the figure.

"I believe we all did, even though I've known about Aldera I never really expected it to be this far end in the spectrum of terrible things." Nemuri replied. He then turned his attention to her.

"I never did ask you this Midnight, but why did you let those two in your home in the first place?"

Nemuri looked at him, almost in an offended manner as the question he asked was something that even she wasn't sure of how to answer. Though she figured he didn't mean it in any bad tense. She took a sip of her tea and licked her lips, trying to think of something to say.

"Inko was my friend. We go back a long time, and she disappeared in my life suddenly and I never got to see her again since. The only time that I did was when she broke into the window of my kitchen over there and was holding Izumi in her arms. I guess you could say it was fate or something because even though Inko never told me things when she disappeared, I was still her friend and seeing her in need with that baby in her arms, well you know where it ended up now." she said with all the truth in her words.

"Must have been something…" he said to her. Nemuri wondered why he never asked anymore questions after that, but she concluded that he would know it best from Inko. While she did want to ask why this man cared for her that much, she relented and thought about the current issue. Kaguya shared the same thoughts as well but she kept her mouth shut.

Toshinori then placed the figure back on the end of the table. He sighed and looked at them.

"We have a lot on our plate here. Specifically, with the knowledge of Young Midoriya's quirk. Deciding what to do next won't be easy." He said to them and they all agreed to it.

"Do we say this to the authorities?" Nemuri asked, though more in concern if this was in his mind rather than a suggestion. Kaguya raised a brow as he tried to think about it.

"No, I'm afraid this'll escalate into something big as that Juno woman Inko said to us. Thinking about it now realistically, she's right on a multitude of levels. Even I can't fully say if Izumi will be better off in our care, 'our' meaning we the heroes and the law."

"It's a large risk at this stage, and we have a wanted woman in your homestead. I don't think they'll be inclined to be kind to the girl and her once they found out. Even All Might's presence won't be enough to deter them at all. The conversation we're having and the choices we're going to make going forward is already illegal." Kaguya said as she thought about the factors that were placed before them. Nemuri agreed, it was too big of a risk now.

"Still, we need her to be in our protection somehow. I'll be in the forefront of it, she is my responsibility after all. With 'One for All' now coursing in her body it's going to be ten times more dangerous if people find out, especially my enemies that know about my quirk." He said to them. This made them feel a certain chill up their spine, since especially if Juno's word was to be trusted, then it meant almost every person in the criminal underworld had knowledge about her quirk. That sort of detail was not a thing to be thrown out easily.

"How are we going to do that? Telling some Pro Heroes we know isn't exactly an easy thing to do as well. Especially on my part." Nemuri replied to him. Kaguya and Toshinori then thought of an idea and they instantly perked up after Nemuri said her prior sentence. They would put Izumi in U.A., especially now that he was going to teach there in the next school year and Nemuri was already a teacher working there. Toshinori cursed himself after forgetting that the whole reason he was training Izumi was also because she was aiming for his alma mater, the school U.A. was the most perfect and sensible idea.

"That isn't actually a bad idea. Midnight, we both have connections and you work at U.A. as a teacher. We could ask them for help. They would understand best, especially now that I've chosen her as my successor. We could ease them with this knowledge and eventually when young Izumi graduates we can have an easier time convincing the authorities with her situation. Bit by bit we can make this work. With my contacts I can help her situation gradually step by step. It's a solid plan if there is one."

"Sir Yagi is correct Ms. Midnight, this could probably be the safest route for the girl. We can coordinate better with a small trusted group of heroes and we can expand our horizons along the way as she progresses. U.A. is also a very heavily guarded and secure campus, we can be assured of her safety somewhat if she enrolls there." Kaguya added. Nemuri looked at the both of them and did realize what they were trying to say. Yet she looked nervous and reclusive a bit at that thought.

"That's assuming she passes though, because I don't think she would accept a recommendation from U.A., even if I was the one who would give it to her. She would insist that she would do it in her own terms. To try and prove... *sighs, to try and prove to Inko that she can reach her dreams." Nemuri said in defeat and all of them did see that Izumi would in fact do that, as her fiery determination to be a hero was evidence to that very notion. Though this wasn't the thing that was in her concern.

"Still, we can train her better and she'll eventually get in and pass the Entrance exam. I have faith in her. She has two powerful quirks running through her veins right now, the best we can do is help her master both and if U.A.'s entrance exam is still what I think it is, then she would ace it with no problems at all." Toshinori said to her, she still wasn't convinced that much. Something was holding her back.

"That's assuming we can in fact help her with these two quirks. We haven't even told her that she has 'One for All' already. What about her own quirk? Inko warned us that repeated use such as the last time will in fact kill her eventually." Nemuri replied.

"I have contacts, regarding 'One for All' it won't be an easy thing to do as of yet, and we can let them in as soon as I convince them to. They can also help us out to find anyone who can alleviate this drawback she has. Particularly my former sidekick, he can patch in some calls for me." Toshinori said as Kaguya's ears stood up to his words.

"Sir, wouldn't Sir Nighteye be a risk? He's a by the books type of person. I don't think he'll be convinced that easily, even with you."

"Still, we can do things slowly for now. I bet Gran Torino could be of use to us until we can get Nighteye in the loop. All in all, what's really in the cards is for Izumi to enter U.A. at all costs. That's the goal we need to finish first, and I'll talk to Inko about it in time."

They all nodded in unison. The plan was solid for now. The only thing left was for Nemuri to cooperate. Nemuri was still thinking about the possibility of the U.A. staff being pulled into this and the same repeat worry was circling her head like fly buzzing around her.

"Midnight. We need assurance that we can get her in and that Principal Nezu along with the rest of the staff is informed about her. We don't need to tell young Izumi the situation she is in now, the girl needs to be trained and better taught before she needs to, but the more pressing issue is that we need these teachers to be in the loop in regards to her. That's why I need your help to secure it. Can you do that?" he asked her. The woman then nodded with a bit of reluctance, but nodded nonetheless.

"Fine… I'll try to talk to them once she gets in. I have one concern though All Might." She said in defeat, Toshinori then wondered what she meant by that.

"What is it?"

"You know Eraserhead and Present Mic right?" she asked.

"Yes… they're teachers of U.A. as well correct?"

Nemuri then stood up from her seat and walked to one of the bookshelves near the couch. She pulled out an old album, particularly a photo from her high school days and took it into her hands. She then walked back to the table and placed it there. Kaguya slowly tried to see what the picture was but Toshinori already saw what needed to be seen. He was surprised to even see such an old picture of Inko. There wasn't anything left much about her profile at all and Nemuri held in her hands one artifact of that mystery-bound past. Nemuri smiled bitterly as she looked at it as well.

Nemuri then pointed at the picture of five friends, she was there hugging a younger Inko while flanked by a goofy looking boy with glasses and another teen that looked like he was annoyed and sleepy. Toshinori instantly recognized who those two were and he finally understood why she was so concerned in the first place.

She pointed out each of the people that appeared in the photo. Her, Inko, the current Present Mic, the current Eraserhead and one other unnamed boy that had his arm draped across Inko's waist. They were all smiling at the camera with the background of a noodle shop at their back.

"This is why I was concerned. These two after Inko suddenly disappeared years ago haven't been in the best of terms towards her. I can even say they loathe her for… *bites lip* for mistakes of the past." Nemuri said bitterly at the picture, the pause mid-sentence was noticeable to both of them. He held the picture in his hands and wondered what happened for them to hate her this much.

"If these two find out about her existence, I don't think they'll be on our side that easy. Especially Eraserhead, since he was closest to this guy." Nemuri pointed on the boy who had an arm around Inko's waist and was smiling happily next to her.

"Who is he?" Kaguya asked.

Nemuri then saw Toshinori and Kaguya looking at her in anticipation. She was worried that invoking his name would give her bitter memories of the past, but since the issue with Izumi was a pressing matter she decided to tell them.

"Hisashi. Hisashi Midoriya was his name."

* * *

"Name of customer?" the store clerk asked as he readied the coffee cup with a pen to write it on. The customer, which was a woman in a less than desired shape was waiting for her order's completion.

"Midoriya, Inko Midoriya."

Scribbling the name on the cup the clerk smiled on the woman and gave the order to the ones who would prepare her coffee. Inko smiled back lightly and paid the amount needed with her free hand. Admittedly after her injury, she had a hard time grasping certain things and this included when she tried to pay for the things she needed to buy from restaurants, shops, or stores. Luckily the man was kind enough to patiently wait for her to get her money and pay her due. Taking the transaction into completion, she left the cashier section and tried to find a suitable table for herself in this coffee shop.

Finding one closest to a window that was unoccupied, she sat down and placed her smaller purse this time on the small table with her receipt under it. She relaxed a bit on the chair as she looked outside. It was still early morning and the morning rush hour of this side of the city was still in effect. People were scrambling to get to their workplaces and some higher collegiate students were busy getting into their Universities. A simple day like usual.

She then took a piece of paper from her purse and saw its contents. It was a hand-written note from Toshinori, the person who she was surprised to find out was actually All Might himself. It was a relatively short note with his phone number attached to it.

_**We need to talk further about Izumi's situation. Midnight already knows most of the plans we formulated last night together. I left my phone number just in case for you. Take care of yourself Inko…**_

She stared it at momentarily and looked at the phone number at the bottom of it. She memorized the digits and placed the piece of paper back into her purse. She then tried to recall the events this early morning before she left to buy some breakfast and coffee for herself. Mostly it was her wondering how she ended up in her bed, but after seeing that small note the sickly man left she slightly frowned at that notion about him carrying her to bed.

_He's hopeless…_

She then sighed deeply. After leaving her room slowly with her condition, she still noticed Izumi's door closed shut. She tried to walk close to it and tried to open it with her quirk, but after reminding herself what happened last night, she dared not to disturb her. It was her fault after all for making yesterday's encounter end like that. Her mental state, the way she talked, and the rest of it was nonsensible and even then if she was rational she wouldn't have turned that girl's thoughts on her.

She stopped herself from opening or even thinking about trying to talk to Izumi at this stage. She needed space both for her and herself. An immediate serious talk was not going to help at all so she decided to take a breather and some alone time for herself. she slowly left the hallways of their apartment and saw Nemuri preparing breakfast for them all. They both smiled awkwardly at each other but they understood that what happened last night was not something that needed to be repeated or said again today. She then told her that she needed some fresh air and time to think on her own.

_"You're leaving again?" she asks._

_ "No, of course not. That'll ruin the whole purpose as to why I came home in the first place."_

_ "Then why do you need some alone time for yourself? Do you need to talk about last night? I'm here for you Inko, you know that right? You can talk to me if there's something bothering you."_

_ Nemuri looked concerned, the woman was stressed based on her eyes and slightly messy hair. Having multiple problems thrown at her all this once made her feel bad for her. Her beautiful features were now slowly being warped by all the events in her life. Nemuri had a close and special place in her heart, Inko determined as she was grateful for all the things she's done for her these past few years and with the way she was concerned right now only cemented that._

_ "I'll be fine on my own for now Nemuri. I just need some time alone that's all. I'll be back before you know it." she said with a cheerful smile towards her. While Nemuri liked to see her smile more this time, she was still uneasy with her decision._

_ "That's what you said last time, before you came back… like this."_

_ Inko tensed but assured her that it was okay._

_ "I'll be back as soon as possible." Nemuri then dejectedly sighed afterwards though she respected her wishes. Inko was now preparing to leave with her purse_

_ "Alright, if you say so… but what will I tell Izumi?"_

_ Inko froze and saw the packaged figure still on the table. She then looked back at her friend._

_ "Tell her I'm just out for a quick walk." She said simply, never adding anything else and Nemuri quietly understood why. The chasm of unsullied emotions between her and her daughter still remained and it was deeper than usual right now._

_ She then left the household with a solemn look on her face._

Inko then pursed her lips to the rather estranged situation she was in. Even back then before this happened, things were simpler. While she was particularly cold towards Izumi in some assets of her life, she wasn't a terror towards her in most cases. Rather it was just a quiet understanding between them about the things she respected and the things Izumi respected as well. Still, being cold and distant wasn't a good thing to start on, especially with how emotionally compromised she was and how Izumi still harbored an underlying hatred towards her.

There was too much to do. Too much to worry at this point.

She sighed again at the numerable problems forced down on her and Nemuri, as well as All Might now that he knew about Izumi's condition. The next few months or even years will prove to be harder just like what Juno said to her, but at the very least she would be there to protect her.

Even if the girl hated her at this moment. She wouldn't stop to protect her regardless.

After thinking deep in thought about it for a minute a half one of the store clerks had arrived with her ordered meal and drink. They placed it neatly before her table and helped her as much as they can given her current state. She thanked the kind employee of this store as he left and started to eat a portion of the croissant bread she ordered while also taking a sip from her hot and steaming coffee.

The beverage had calmed her nerves somewhat when the heat entered her body. The smoothness and sweetness of the drink making her senses lighter. The bread wasn't bad as well, and the softness of it only made her feel calmer and better in the long run.

As she enjoyed her breakfast, she didn't notice that the coffee shop had double the customers as before. It was slightly more packed now and she noticed that most of the seats and tables were filled as more people came in. She looked around and continued to enjoy her meal.

Suddenly her eyes caught wind of a certain ashen-blonde girl about Izumi's age wandering about with a tray in her hands, looking for a table to sit on. Seeing that no table was free or unoccupied, Inko strangely felt the notion to invite the girl over.

She asked herself at first why, but maybe it was because she was Izumi's age… or maybe because she was just feeling generous today. Could be both ways she reckoned.

Waiting for her to move closer so she could ask the girl, she was beaten to it when the girl was looking around and noticed her sitting alone by the window.

"H-Hi… um, c-can I ask if you're sitting alone ma'am? I don't think there's any seats or tables left for me in this place and I need to rest my legs for a bit." The girl said with a wide and awkward grin towards her. Inko raised both eyebrows and shook her head after strangely looking at the girl.

"Uh no… go ahead. I'm not seeing anyone so perhaps we can share." She said to her and the girl bowed slightly in respect for her.

"Thank you so much ma'am. I promise I won't be a bother."

"No go ahead, it's been rather quiet on my end. I won't mind a bit of chatter after all." She said to the girl as the girl smiled again at her (oddly reminding her of Izumi). The girl sat across her and laid her tray which was populated by a hot chocolate drink and a slice of red-velvet cake. She began using her fork to take a slice out of it.

"Do you mind if I ask your name dear?" Inko asked.

"M-Me? Oh, I'm Himiko Toga ma'am. Nice to meet you! And you are-"

"Inko, Inko Midoriya dear. It's nice to meet you as well." Inko replied and the girl's eyes widened. She suddenly smiled happily as if she just discovered something important.

"Oh my God. You're her mother?" Himiko asked.

"Pardon?"

"Sorry… I meant to ask, are you in some way related to an Izumi Midoriya?"

This time it was Inko's turn to be surprised and wide eyed. This random girl for some reason knew her daughter. She tilted her head in confusion as to why at all.

"Y-yes?"

"Holy crap! I'm Himiko Toga ma'am! I'm your daughter's best friend in school."

_Best Friend? Izumi has a best friend? _Inko thought as she looked at the girl, though seeing the way the girl acted already gave her a sense that it was possible for Izumi to befriend this girl. She actually deeply sighed in relief internally knowing that after so many years she finally had a best friend to begin with. She then tried to learn more about this girl after her declaration.

"You're my daughter's best friend? Wow, that's surprising to hear."

"Hm? Why so? Did Izu not tell you about me? I thought I already met her aunt so I figured they'd say something about me to you."

"Oh, it's not that dear. You see I just came home yesterday after a trip. So I wasn't told about anything yet, but I'm happy that my girl has a friend especially since you're so cheerful and happy about it." she said as Himiko smiled back while eating a slice of her red velvet cake.

"Hehe, me and Izu do get along pretty well." the girl added as she grinned. Inko noticed that the girl had fang-like protrusions with the shape of her teeth. Though since the Quirk Age started this was nothing really to worry about at all. However, she was curious about this girl's relationship with her Izumi.

"I reckon you both are in the same class then?" she asked courteously.

"Oh yes, in fact I was sort of a late transfer ma'am. So I just got into school this week. I'm a bit new to the area as well. Me and my dad only moved here by the end of March so haven't had the time to make friends yet. Though Izu was glad enough to be my friend, so I have a lot to thank her for."

"Interesting, I'm quite surprised that my Izumi made friends that easily with someone."

Himiko then grew curious as to why the woman said that.

"Why is that?" she asked. Inko then tried to decide if she should tell the girl or not but seeing that this could be an opportunity to learn more about Izumi (which she tried to do better now), she decided the former instead of the latter.

Unfortunately, talking about this difficult past about Izumi's younger years was not a topic she could easily say to just anyone right now. Especially since the whole reason she had a rough childhood in the first place was because of her. Making her quirkless did help in the overall protection of her secret, but looking back now it was not something that benefited Izumi's growth as a person at all. Thankfully, the one thing that didn't change in the girl was her golden heart and her ideals towards heroes and belief in society. Maybe something changed with how things are now and this girl before her was evidence to that, so she started talking.

"Well, Izumi wasn't really the best in terms of socializing. Growing up, she was frequently bullied and picked on by everyone for how different she was. Her whole life was dominated by the belief of heroes and her love for them. The people around her didn't seem to share that notion at all and always looked at her like she was a nutcase. It didn't help that she was introverted too."

Himiko continued to listen with an interested expression on her face. Inko smiled a bit, she could now see bits and pieces as to why this girl and her Izumi liked each other. They had so much in common.

"While her school performance isn't something to laugh at, she wasn't loved by the schools she went to as well. Because of her case, the numerous incidents that circled her throughout the years forced me to continuously change her schools every grade and level she jumps into. Making it harder and harder for her to settle in and make connections. Ever since then I haven't really heard her having any friends to speak about, nor even acquaintances. That's why it worried me back then when she comes home every day, barely saying anything and getting to her room the moment she's allowed to and locking herself in." Inko frowned at that last sentence, there was more to all of this than just about Izumi's school and social life. Most of this was because the atmosphere at home when she was around wasn't the friendliest nor the happiest. Izumi never truly hated her, but the neglect that she left in her wake did add to that resentment between them.

She needed to change it. If Izumi was to continue with her by her side, she needed to be there for her. That meant she needed to change her ways and be the mother she needed her to be before. Seeing and talking to this girl now was progress, small progress but enough to start on.

"That's why I'm happy to know that now she has a friend at all and it seems like you're a nice little lady too. Thank you. Thank you for being there for her. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm grateful that you're there now beside her at this time." Inko said with a small smile to which the girl blushed lightly at. She then grinned back and smiled at that thought.

"Thank you Mrs. Midoriya. B-But you really shouldn't thank me. It should be who needs to thank you and your daughter. She was the one who offered that we'd be friends. Even though our first meeting was weird and awkward, I never got to experience anyone being happy in my presence. Typically the only reason people talk to me is if they need anything. My quirk doesn't help too since it mostly scares people away when I tell them about it, but Izu… she never did any of that."

The girl then smiled to herself as she started to scrape the remaining white and red sprinkled frosting left on the plate of her cake. Recalling the last few days that she and Izumi bonded together as friends. Inko could see it in her eyes and was surprised to hear all of it.

"Izu never saw me for what I was, never got scared about my quirk nor even got weirded out about my personality which most people do. She only saw me as a person, a normal person just like everybody else. No words could express how happy I was at that moment, that I too finally found a friend."

Inko looked in surprise. Not in a bad way but in a good way. She was surprised of one thing, and that was Izumi's kindness. Even with how rough and unstable her childhood was, even with how cold and distant she was, nor even with how problematic the relationships she had with her and other people, she remained a good person at heart. Despite all of that she hung on to those traits and she couldn't help but smile for her while at the same time sad for herself, because none of it was done because of her and none of it was alike her decisions when she grew up.

Still, it was heartwarming for her to know all of this. The girl was a hero at heart, unlike her. With that said, she would do everything she can now in her ability to make sure that she attains her daughter's dream. She clenched her free hand into a fist with determination to see this through.

"Thank you dear… that was lovely to hear especially since it came from you." Inko said in gratitude this time and Himiko smiled back. They then began to talk a few more topics about Izumi in school lately and how yesterday they had a wonderful day out together which oddly included a boy as well. While the revelation startled her (the thought of Izumi having a boy with her that is), her annoyance and fear would need to be addressed later. She was happy with the talk she shared with the ashen blonde girl and when time came that she needed to leave, she left the girl with a welcoming smile and some good thoughts on where to start on with Izumi. The road to recovery was not going to be easy nor short road to trek on but with renewed hope within her to try and walk this path, she was determined to see the end of it.

Maybe then Izumi and her could mend the broken chasm between them.

Maybe then will Inko try and accomplish one of the silly promises she made to... _him_. She shook the thought away and started her walk back home with all of these thoughts inside of her. Thinking how best to approach this.

Meanwhile, as she left the ashen-blonde haired girl on the coffee shop, Himiko Toga smiled to herself for another job well done. She left the coffee shop with a large smile after meeting Izumi's mother, as well as confirming that the woman was in fact the retired Villain known as Jade.

Things were proceeding smoothly on the girl's part…

* * *

Inko was walking home with all of those thoughts in store. She was ready to talk to Izumi, if she would have her. She didn't expect that she would forgive her that easily for all of those years of hardship and neglect she gave the girl, but she wanted to try and start again with her. It was a hopeful dream but at least it wasn't too far-fetched. While she herself was no real believer of second chances, she was determined to do so this time and maybe then their relationship could be mended.

She needed redemption this time. Not for her past sins, not for her past transgressions, but redemption in the form of finally being a mother the child she took in. The child that was her daughter.

While she was walking, she noticed that some of the people walking with her in this part of the street were noticeably flocking away from the direction she was going. She then heard screams.

She wondered why until an SUV was thrown close to her direction, having less of a time to react given her current disposition she dodged just in time, only to see a child being shielded by her mother as the vehicle was going to hit them. Inko raised her free hand up to try and stop the vehicle as time seemingly slowed down for her.

"GET DOWN!" someone screamed and pushed the mother and daughter away.

**CRASH!**

Inko coughed as the dust of the crash settled, revealing a crashed vehicle in front of her. She looked around as people scrambled around and tried to see where the woman and child went. Her eyes darted towards a nearby spot next to her and saw the woman and child being checked… by a crimson-haired young girl. Inko was surprised to see Izumi risking her life (again) for people she barely knew.

"Are you alright ma'am?" she said as the two responded with a yes, they ran off as more civilians cleared the scene. Inko didn't know how to react to that as of yet but suddenly her demeanor changed when she noticed that Izumi had a scraped wound on her knee. Inko then tried to stand up and get to her as soon as possible when Izumi saw her.

"Izumi!" she yelled.

"M-Mom? What are you- LOOK OUT!" Izumi screamed as Inko turned and saw what seemed like a villain being thrown at her direction. Inko was about to stop it from crashing on her until she felt rope-like appendages being wrapped around her waist in quick speed.

**THWAP!**

Izumi looked shocked as to what happened as something had suddenly burst from her arms. It was black, energy-like tendrils that looked like whips tying her mother at blinding speeds. She pulled her out of harm's way towards her as the villain crashed on the pavement where she once stood.

**CRASH!**

Inko then looked at her and saw what was on her arms. Her eyes suddenly widened in fear and concern at what she was seeing, not even thinking about what was happening around her. Whip-like appendages were moving in Izumi's arm wildly as the girl stared at them. From the points were the appendages breached themselves from her skin, a pint of blood was seeping out.

"Mom? T-They just came out of me…" Izumi said as Inko rushed to her, in fear that this was part of her quirk, though she never heard of any black energy tendrils being part of the file. She grew alarmed at what this meant. Could it be that her quirk was activating and using quirks she consumed from the past right now? But why was she not bleeding majorly? A thousand questions raced her mind as Inko held one of the girl's arms in her own.

"M-Mom?"

"Does it hurt Izumi?" she asked firmly with care in her voice.

"Kinda but I don't feel any drawback yet." Izumi replied to her as the whips continued to wave around in her arms. Inko then tried to wipe the blood off as clear worry and concern was on her face. Inko then noticed that the girl was staring at her with how soft and comforting she was doing with the bleeding wounds. It was odd for some reason seeing her mother to be this 'caring' for her. Inko stopped and looked back at the girl, sensing the transfixed focus on her.

"What?" Inko asked.

Izumi was about to reply when the villain behind them became conscious again. The villain which was bare-skinned the waist up with his long braided hair put a hand on the concrete pavement and turned himself into the same material as the surface he touched. He had an angry look on his face and was looking for blood. He eyed them both and tore a chunk of the road and threw it at them effortlessly.

"MOM!" Izumi yelled but the piece of rock never hit them, it only levitated a few meters from their bodies. Inko smiled and with her free arm, she clenched it and the rock behind them disintegrated into a million pieces. Izumi then saw the villain about to aim a punch at Inko. She tried to warn her mother again but saw that the villain froze in place and tried to move in his current state but to no avail. An invisible force had been holding down his entire body and Inko turned to merely stare at the villain.

Izumi was amazed, she knew that her mother had telekinesis but didn't anticipate nor see how strong her quirk was. She looked on in awe as Inko floated the villain towards her with no visible strain no effort in place and tapped his forehead with her finger, knocking the man unconscious and reverting him back to his original form. He then fell on the ground face-first with a thud and Inko smirked to herself. She then turned her attention back to her daughter whom was wide-eyed and amazed at what just occurred.

"Izumi are you oka-"

"THAT WAS AWESOME MOM! I KNOW YOU HAD TELEKINESIS BUT I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WERE THIS STRONG! THAT WAS SO COOL!" the girl suddenly blurted out as she began giggling and laughing in excitement. Strangely enough, the whips were gone from her arms and Inko smiled slightly as her girl seemingly enjoyed what she could do. Her heart beat a little faster after the girl said those words.

_Is this… is this what it feels like?_

Inko then smiled to herself as Izumi continued to mumble to herself about the new development with her quirk as well as Inko's. Then after the seemingly heartwarming moment came Inko's realization that there could have been bystanders watching, and her paranoia kicked in as if she was seen with this quirk then-

"Mom… you alright?" Izumi said to break her line of thought. She then saw that only a few were in this part of the street (most not even noticing what happened) as most of the people flocked to where the villain fight was.

A small roar of a nearby explosion was heard and Izumi and Inko saw a familiar plant-like Pro Hero grabbing multiple villains in his arms with his quirk.

Which after that they saw Mt. Lady soar up the buildings with a villain looking the same as the one they beat right now, was in her hands. Inko sighed, and those few that did see them here didn't think much of what happened and rapidly turned their attention to the current Pro Heroes in action. Looking around and seeing the coast was clear, she willed the nearest lamppost and bent the steel to bind the unconscious villain she just defeated easily. Izumi was still in awe more at her technique, mastery, and flawless execution more so than the current fight occurring near their neighborhood, which now was embarrassingly seeing Mt. Lady posing towards a hail of reporters in her giant form. Inko felt relieved as this drew the attention away from them.

"We should probably leave… if anyone saw us using our quirks in broad daylight we may get questioned by the police. Especially you dear, wouldn't want another incident under your belt right?" Inko said with a smile as Izumi nodded.

"R-Right…" Izumi said as she followed her mother. After the adrenaline was gone, the atmosphere was returned to that of indifference and awkwardness between them. Though the scene they just experienced was now at their backs, the both of them didn't know how to approach each other. Especially after last night. Izumi on the other hand was quite surprised to see her mother like this and began to slowly feel bad for the events of last night.

They were halfway in on their quiet walk together until Izumi realized something. She then cleared her throat to get Inko's attention.

"Uh mom?"

"Y-yes?" Inko asked in anticipation, hoping herself to be ready to talk to her girl and-

"Where are we going exactly?" Izumi said as Inko broke her line of thought and realized the same. This wasn't the way back to their home and neither was Inko trying to get somewhere. They were at the middle of the sidewalk, confused at themselves at where exactly they needed to go. For Inko, she just kept walking away from the scene earlier to get her and Izumi to talk, she didn't think of where exactly they were heading together.

"Oh."

Izumi smiled and for some reason she grabbed her mother's hand. Much to Inko's surprise she tagged along as the both of them walked together, hand in hand. For the first time ever since Izumi was four. A small blush formed between them both as Izumi lead her mother on.

"Where are we going?" Inko asked her.

"I know a place special…" Izumi said and she trusted her with this notion. For the first time in her life Inko felt a sense of accomplishment towards the girl even with how little it was.

At the very least, according to Inko it was a start.

* * *

"We're here!" Izumi excitedly said with a meek but happy tone to her voice.

When Izumi said somewhere special, she never thought that this was the place. The very moment she saw and knew where she was, she immediately turned pale and quiet. The place Izumi and her went to was the park where the Aldera Memorial was placed at. The former abandoned pier by the sea which was now turned into a beautiful garden park in memoriam of those who died in the Aldera tragedy.

The same tragedy that started it all for her. The place had changed drastically, but to be honest she never wanted to return to this place at all as it invoked a lot of memories of that night. The change of scenery with how this place was handled didn't help either. The memorial slabs that contained the names of those who died also made her feel uneasy.

Since the person who did all of this was her, Izumi.

A pang of pain filled her chest as this was the 'special' place Izumi said they should go to. The innocence and cluelessness of her demeanor with the painful truth around her made Inko felt bad about herself and for Izumi. It was hard for her to hide what she was feeling right now, but with how Izumi was pleased and happy for bringing here, she didn't dare to break her heart.

_Not here… not now…_

She needed to be there for her, and for now she needed to make sure that she stayed in her positive and cheerful self. She wanted to change for the girl, and change was what needed to happen. Taking a deep breath, she put on a small smile on her face to settle her unease.

Izumi then pulled them both to the nearest bench and sat there. As they sat, Izumi quickly put her eyes on the red camellia flowers that bloomed around the bushes in this park and picked one of them. Her eyes admiring its crimson beauty and Inko couldn't help but compare the color and beauty of the flower towards Izumi. A gust of wind came upon them as Inko noticed a few people putting candles on the memorial and officials whom were decorating the place. Making her remember that it was close to April 12 now. The day it all happened. The day she found Izumi.

And the day where it was seemingly her birthday.

She clenched the hem of her dress tightly. The whole reason she never celebrated birthdays with Izumi was because of the shared thought of reliving the memories of that night. Which is why she left on days like these, and only Nemuri was there to be with her to celebrate. Although, ever since then birthdays were never a thing that Izumi looked out for in life, like it was a normal day alike the rest. She seemed to have lost any sense of joy coming from it and Inko was to blame for that. She bitterly cursed herself for doing such things.

There was a good reason as to why she did those things, but it was never necessarily the best in terms for Izumi's childhood. She moved a bit closer to her in order to try and start a conversation. Izumi never reacted yet, she had a distant look towards the memorial with that flower in her hand.

"Mom… about last night, I didn't mean it to end that way." Izumi suddenly said as she held the flower in her fingers. Inko pursed her lips trying to think of a sentence to say back to her, but luckily this time she wasn't going to let this slide with a slip up on her part. No more.

"It's alright Izumi. I can understand what happened last night. To be fair I kind of deserved it." she said in admittance. A sad smile was on her face as Inko was now the one who looked distantly upon the memorial. Memories of how she found her bouncing back to her. Izumi on the other hand, was still a bit taken back with how much her mother changed after she came back. She wanted to know what took her this long to be like this, but with the mood right now, she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"You didn't. I was rude on you. I never even bothered to ask what happened. I just went on a blind hatred that I let loose on you and worst of all everyone saw it. All Might saw it."

Inko could feel the guilt in her words. She then proceeded to do what she thought would comfort her. She put a hand on top of the girl's own and squeezed it softly. Lovingly. Izumi felt a surge of comfort as they looked at each other in the eye.

"I would never blame you for such a thing, and as for All Might I know he understands. He knows you more than I do. I don't think he'll be mad at you sweetie. As for me, you don't need to blame yourself. All those years… all those times we've been together doesn't amount a thing with how I treated you."

"Mom, I told you it's fine you don't need to-" Inko squeezed her hand at her with a guilt-ridden face of regret. Something Izumi never expected her to have. While she was surprised at this sudden change, she couldn't seem to stop asking why and how her mother ever became this way in the span of one trip. Other than that, she felt a sense of something different this time in regards to how she felt for her. It wasn't there to say that she belonged into her life now unlike before, but something was there enough to warrant the feeling.

"Listen to me. D-Don't give me your sorry yet. Don't apologize and don't even try and say to yourself that it's fine. It never was, you and I know it." Inko said as a tear escaped her eye, a regretful sorrow had shadowed over her and Izumi couldn't help but be sad for her.

"But… I'm going to try to regain your trust back. To be worthy of your sorry… and your love back." Inko continued to say that allowed Izumi to look in her mother's eye finally with a sense of happiness, and feelings not of sorrow nor neglect, but of acceptance.

She squeezed her mother's hand back. Inko smiled slightly as Izumi wiped her tears.

"I'm going to try again Izumi… to be your mother. I just hope that you'll accept me." She said finally as Inko let out all the feelings she had with those words. Izumi smiled widely with a hint of tears building up her eyes, but this time they didn't fall. She only proceeded to comfort her mother as best she can. Izumi then took a deep breath as she looked at the flower in her other hand.

"I got to be honest too. I still don't think I forgive you yet, for all of those years…"

She then placed the flower in Inko's hair, much to her surprise as she smiled back.

"But it wouldn't hurt to try right?" she said to her and Inko smiled back.

Inko nodded as they looked in each other's eyes and for the first time Inko now felt what Izumi said about this place being special. While the guilt and sorrow of what happened still remained, it was there where all choices lead to where they were now.

Together…

And Inko was going to make sure that Izumi continues on with her dreams and hopes for the world. No matter how people see her, no matter how people view, nor if everyone knew the truth… she saw a spark on that day when she saw Izumi. The girl she took in as her daughter was going to change the world someday. With her golden heart and resolve, Inko knew it was to be…

And she promised herself to be right by her side to see it all happen.

_It wouldn't hurt to try after all…_

"Oh, about last night mom. I was wondering… why was All Might there at home and with Ms. Kaguya as well? Did something happen?" Izumi wondered as she looked at Inko. Inko with her deepened thoughts didn't notice that from her pocket a few seconds earlier, she took out an All Might figure and was now holding it in her arms. Almost like the very last time she caught Izumi holding a similar figure.

Inko then took hold of it as Izumi gave it, albeit cautiously. However Inko merely stared at it, recalling what happened at that night and vowed for it to never happen again. She traced the smile on the figure's head and gave it back to Izumi.

"It's time I take my words back sweetie. I realize now that nothing's going to stop you, so I'll be there for you every step of the way until I see the same smile on your face when you become a hero."

Izumi felt a strong sense of shock from that. She then tearfully tackled Inko into a tight hug to which the older woman giggled a bit and hugged her back with as much love as she can give.

"Thank you." Izumi said in her arms.

They then laughed as they separated and held hands once again as they enjoyed the quiet and peaceful day in the park at the benches. They began to make small talk again about how Inko's quirk worked as Izumi mumbled yet again much to Inko's laughter. Though the topic of this new development of Izumis quirk with these 'Black Whips remained', Inko figured discussion on that could be tabled for a later time. As she enjoyed the time she spent with Izumi and her endless passion and amazement towards quirks and heroes in general.

"Now I see what Toshinori sees in you." Inko suddenly said out aloud.

"Toshinori? Wait, you two know each other?" after saying that, Inko went tight-lipped.

* * *

**Watch out for the Sidestory 'Cherished Memories' to know what happens with Inko and Toshinori's conversation before this scene below happens**

00:03 Hours…

"Ms. Kaguya, has the program for tomorrow been set?" Toshinori said as he finally arrived home into his house. Kaguya bowed slightly at him before helping him out of his jacket. He then began to walk up the stairs towards his room as the woman followed.

"It is already midnight sir; I believe the proper term would be 'the program for today'." She said as Toshinori smirked a bit. He yawned as he arrived at the top of the stairs and opened the door to his room. Turning the lights on, he saw his desk filled with boxes upon boxes of papers. Essays of the various schools nationwide chosen to be sent to him in order to pick for the celebration. He was given the honor to read one of said essays, but even though he was given the opportunity to read all of them he was never given the actual choice of picking which one to read for the event. That job was made by the various departments and offices these papers went through for approval.

Kaguya already sent him whose paper to read and while he already knew the name and content of the essay that was chosen, he seemingly did not read that paper yet. He wanted something else for tonight. Someone else's paper that he needed to find, especially since he had just come home after meeting that girl. He sat down on the chair and began to open one of the boxes containing the essays.

"I trust the meeting you and Ms. Inko had was fruitful sir?" Kaguya said as she stood next to him.

"Yeah. It was great. Had to take her home after she had one too many sips but overall she's alright. I got to see Young Midoriya briefly as well before I headed back here." He said with a rather pleased tone. Kaguya smiled slightly at that news but then wondered why he was taking care of the essays now.

"May I ask what you're doing sir? You have an early schedule for later today… I don't think staying up late at night will be good for your health." Kaguya said to him. The man continued to rummage through the papers he had in hand one by one to see which was the work he was intending to find.

"I'm aware of that, but I just had to do this Ms. Kaguya. Particularly, I think I may need your help to find one particular work faster so that we can finish this early." He said as he began sorting through the collection.

"For what reason?"

Toshinori stopped and looked at his assistant in the eyes.

"Today's the day… and I intend on finding Young Midoriya's essay." Kaguya's eyes widened as he said this and looked at the various boxes spread in the room that she neatly placed after they arrived. She then looked back at him.

"It will take us a while sir. There's so much that they sent in. We don't even know if hers was approved or not." Kaguya said.

"I know, but I want to try. I just need to read it. With everything that's been revealed to us Ms. Kaguya I can't help myself to try my best to be part of this girl's life. Especially since this was the day where it all started." He said as Kaguya understood his meaning, she then smiled a bit again and began opening some of the boxes as she sat on the floor and removed her suit jacket off.

He then smirked back as he began opening and sorting through another box.

"I do hope we can find it in this pile." He said with a hint of mild humor in his voice as there were a lot of boxes sent in and based on how he gauged with the speed he had in sorting all of this, they may take all night to find one paper amongst the hundreds upon hundreds of the same work piled together in these boxes.

"Not to worry sir, I can be of assistance. I mean, I always handle paperwork coming from your part and even though you never raise my salary, I keep doing my job as efficient as it always is." Kaguya said as her bunny ears drooped lowly as she kept on sorting her own pile. Toshinori looked at her with an embarrassed face as he saw the woman not even flinching to look at his direction.

"R-Right…" he said to himself as he mentally reminded himself to acknowledge what she just said.

They sorted through a variety of works for almost two hours. After doing so in that span, Toshinori began feeling the fatigue and tardiness seeping into him. With every name and title of the essay he saw, his eyes were getting heavier and heavier. He didn't even check the time as the silent atmosphere did not help in keeping him awake. He slowly drifted off to closing his eyes until he felt Kaguya tapping his shoulder. He instantly opened his eyes and yawned heavily as he stretched his arms.

Oddly enough, Kaguya didn't seem tired nor sleepy at all. She had with her the paper in hand.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"About 2 in the morning. It wasn't easy, but I found it. We're lucky hers was found and I have to tell you sir, after reading it… I think you will find it pleasing." Kaguya said as she placed the paper into his hands. Toshinori cleared his eyes as Kaguya stood by and picked up her suit jacket again.

"I'll come back for some tea…" she said as she slowly left the room, closing the door softly before seeing him look over the paper in his hands with an interested face, even in his tardiness.

Toshinori finally sighed in relief as he saw Izumi Midoriya's handwriting now in his hands. He looked it over and began thinking about what today's events would mean for the girl. He had a hard time still in believing that the one who caused all of those deaths years ago was now the author of the paper he had in hand.

A paper that talked about in reflection of those who died in the tragedy. Worst of all, the little girl wanted to be a hero without even knowing all of this. All of the dark paths she trekked before she was even aware was a truth that he was afraid she couldn't handle one day.

_Damn it, the whole reason I'm here is just to read her work…_

He cursed himself for being pessimistic but realistically speaking he would garner those thoughts after knowing the truth. But he promised the girl that she would be a hero someday and reading her essay was something he really wanted to do after seeing her recently. He sighed to himself and started reading her paper, titled coincidentally as "Wisdoms of Past Mistakes".

Toshinori slowly read and drunk in each and every word and sentence the girl made with her work. He was amazed honestly. As even now, without her presence he could feel the passion and heartfelt words the girl was trying to convey with her essay. It wasn't overly long, nor was it overly short but it was just enough to get her message across.

It was beautiful. Her work was simply something that evoked Izumi Midoriya's drive. Hearing it now from the girl all the more cemented his already strong belief in the future she could lead as a hero like him. She was the perfect choice already.

If not for the reality of her situation.

The poor girl had innocently gave out promises, vows, and valuable wisdom in regards to what society should learn from Aldera. Her opinions while bold, made sense and at the end she gave it a final wish for herself and the world that when she would graduate, she would make sure all of the families and friends that died that day would find justice and finally have peace knowing that she solved the case in honor of them.

From that notion alone, he couldn't help but feel a heavy pain in his chest after finally ending her essay. He began asking himself if this was even the best path for her…

Since he knew how bad it would end when Izumi found out about her past. He knew the girl was strong, but was she even strong enough to handle this truth?

It was also fruitless to try and hide this from her at all. This secret would be known to her someday, and worst of all the world may in fact know of it as well. Toshinori could now see what Inko was afraid of all these years and the words Inko told him about this Juno held accountability amongst all the scenarios they imagined.

It was that complicated, not just for the girl but for all of them.

Yet, even with such insurmountable odds, Toshinori felt the opposite of hopelessness. The whole reason Inko came back was because she tried to believe in heroes again, much like her daughter and him being this way wasn't going to help. He needed to stand up and help that girl achieve her dreams… no matter the cost. He was going to make sure as his successor, he would be there for her.

No more was he going to let this slide like last time. No more mistakes.

A large storm cloud was arriving upon the girl, and he would be there to protect her every step of the way. He steeled himself as he placed her work on his desk and readied himself for the future. For the Izumi…

"Would you like tea sir?" Kaguya said at the doorway whom he didn't even notice was already open. He nodded as Kaguya came in with the tray and gave the cup of tea into his hands.

"Ms. Kaguya…" he said after sipping a fill of tea.

"Yes?"

"Let's make sure that the girl's future ends up well." he said to her as Kaguya smiled slightly back with her bunny ears standing up.

"I wholeheartedly agree… Mr. Yagi."

* * *

**ALDERA MEMORIAL DAY**

07:33 Hourse, U.A. Faculty Grounds…

Nemuri stood outside the doors of the meeting room where the faculty had just finished a gathering talking about their duties for today. School was out, so no students were on campus for today as the event and holiday was in effect. For the teachers however, they had to be part of the celebration itself, being pro heroes themselves as well as teachers for the hero course. They had to be present along the other big university names to come there in honor for the event.

The meeting in itself wasn't at all that much to be thought of. Simple guidelines as well as plans on what to do for today was shown. The principal and the staff also added the preliminary lessons to be held for the next day once classes resume. Overall the meeting was simple and much like the other less troubling times, easy and less time consuming.

Most of the teachers and faculty members had left the room as Nemuri waited outside. She was waiting for one person to leave the room that she needed to talk to. Nezu, the principal was still inside finishing up with some other homeroom teachers as well as a few other persons to talk to. She would also converse with the principal once the event ends today. A lot needed to be done after last week's meeting with All Might. Even now to convince most of the staff here today, he needed him with her. However, asking for an appointment was easy enough to begin with.

However, the person that he desperately needed to talk to right now was another matter entirely.

As she waited, she heard footsteps approaching the doorway and like her, the man was also in his hero suit. The man in question was the pro hero Eraserhead, or known better to her as Shota Aizawa. His deadpan expression was something Nemuri always liked seeing. He stared at her as she cleared her throat.

"A minute?" she asked.

"What's this about?" he said as his tardy and heavy eyes looked down on her. Like usual, his tone that seemed like he had no interest was heard.

"Oh for God's sake Aizawa just come with me." She said as she strutted away, the man shrugged as they walked to a nearby window, overlooking the campus grounds below as Aizawa stood near her. He was waiting for what she was about to say to him.

"So?" he said with his uninterested tone. Nemuri frowned slightly in annoyance.

"Look, something's about to come up that I need to address the whole school staff with."

"And?" he said as he flicked off his pocket one of Present Mic's invitations for his 'DJ' services.

"I need you there to help me convince them."

Aizawa then turned his attention to her. He was now curious. Nemuri crossed her arms and looked at the view outside. Trying to think best of how to ease this with him, so that it would be easier for her to tell him about the truth. He continued to look at her with a brow raised at her statement.

"What exactly do you need me for?" he said.

Nemuri bit her lip. Asking herself how was she going to do this.

"Aizawa… do you still remember your best friend?"

"I don't have best friends." Aizawa quickly said as he stared back at the window. Nemuri put her eyes back to him again. She was simply worried as to how best he would take the words she was about to say next. That proclamation alone of him seeing he had no best friend was firm and bitter.

But she had to try.

"That wasn't what I meant." She continued.

Aizawa then frowned further and Nemuri swore she could see the man curling up his fists. Old wounds and memories resurfaced for both of them but Nemuri decided to pry further.

"Do you still remember Hisashi, Aizawa?"

Aizawa looks at her. His already gruff and depressed look further strengthened with a gaze full of unbridled sadness and rage. He seems pissed off more than usual and Nemuri could understand why. This was a sore topic for her, him, and Hizashi, the pro hero Present Mic.

"Why would I forget?" he said simply to her.

"I was just wondering if you still think that way of-" she stopped when she saw him walking away with a bit of force in his steps. Stomping with each drop of his foot.

"If you're going to ask me about HER, then you're out of luck. If I so much as see her again, I'll make sure she never gets out of prison." He said angrily as he stomped off. Not even caring when Present Mic and Vlad King saw him as they got out of the meeting room.

This leaves Nemuri in a bewildered state.

She takes a deep breath as her colleagues ready themselves to attend the event.

_This is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be…_

"Yo Midnight! What's got him angry all of the sudden hmm?" Present Mic said as he came near her. The woman uncrossed her arms and fixed herself.

"Nothing, just the usual. You know how he hates the media." She said to him, clearly lying as Present Mic wondered what it was about between them.

"Say, is Nezu coming out?" she suddenly asked.

"Oh, he's just finishing up with Thirteen there. He'll be out in no time." He said as he pointed towards the door, where true enough both Nezu and Space Thirteen just came out of the room.

"Why though? Something wrong?" Hizashi said to her.

"Just some important business to attend to Mic…" Nemuri said.

* * *

10:08 Hours, Aldera Memorial Park…

"There's a lot of people here." Inko said as Izumi lead her in the crowd. The height of the celebration was at its highest. People from all walks of life gathered in this part of the city as a multitude of civilians, officers of the law, some important figures of the government, as well as dozens upon dozens of Pro Heroes were present. Inko, while a bit cautious at the sight of such people was amazed to see all of this in person. Having never at all seen this event live nor on TV, she never expected it to be this much of a large event. However, this made her all the more saddened within her since the impact of that tragedy years ago was rather large, and the both of them were at the center of it again.

While she did promise Izumi yesterday that she would come with her tomorrow, she never expected that they would partake in this event much less come to it. If she would have known, she may have declined or done something else with her today. But, this was Izumi's choice and as much as she hated partaking in this event with her most of all, she didn't decline as she promised herself that she would be there for her every step of the way.

Plus, it seemed like Izumi was enjoying herself. Ironically speaking, the whole reason this event came to be in the first place was because of her. Shaking that morbid thought out of the way, they waded through hundreds of maybe thousands of people that flooded the streets as various stalls, stores, and restaurants have scattered around, seeking customers to sell their businesses with. The variety was ever present as candy, chocolates, delicacies of various kinds, as well as lunches were being sold. Izumi, being a kid had asked her for some of the chocolates, of which she happily bought for the both of them. Food wasn't also the only thing being sold, clothes ranging from shirts to dresses were being sold as well. Prints that had sayings, quotes, or the simple "REMEMBER" were plastered on all of them. The day in itself was such a busy yet cheerful time for people to socialize and get together.

It was odd that this spawned from a tragedy. This made Inko question whether people still see the Tragedy fourteen years ago as something serious still. However, she did see candles, and families that were quietly praying, or mourning still next to the memorial slabs. Although now at this time, it was being cordoned off as the place was being prepared for the program that was about to start in a few minutes. Officers and Pro Heroes kept on watch as they both heard that today's celebration had the Prime Minister as a guest to uphold and end the ceremony.

It was also special since All Might was there for a small part in the program. They were both informed about this since he had told them himself and that Nemuri also informed them about heroes of the top ten coming as well. Nemuri however warned her about doing her best not to be seen by either Aizawa and Hizashi, since both were to be present in the program. She put a mental note to keep watch. While she was still injured with her other arm still in a sling, her senses were better after yesterday's events. Luckily it seemed like this wasn't going to be a problem since a lot of people were making sure no one was going to ruin the event today.

Izumi however, as energetic as ever continued to drag her around much to her dismay. In truth. After last night's 'session' with Toshinori at a local bar, she still had a bit of that hangover after passing out late yesterday evening and the girl had forced her to wake up at a pretty early time frame. Thankfully, the coffee she drank did its due and she was able to focus even with the amount of tardiness still in her system.

Right now, they were standing next to a group of people whom were buying red camellia flowers at a flower stand. Izumi wanted to partake for the program's end later so she asked her to buy some flowers. She stood there amongst the people falling in line as Izumi remained by her side, texting on her phone. Funnily enough, she began wondering who she was texting to.

"Who's that?" Inko asked.

"Oh it's Miko, I was asking if she was going to come today." Izumi replied as Inko recalled the ashen-blonde hair girl she just spoke to yesterday, as she did tell that encounter to Izumi.

"Ah… alright then." Inko said as she regained her focus on the line as well as looking around in case the UA staff was there. Izumi smirked thinking she understood why she asked her that question. The implication was far too obvious.

"Mom… you do know that no boys are trying to text me right?" she asked with sarcasm. Inko turned her attention to her.

"Wasn't the goal of my question but… it does help that I worry about these things. You are growing to be quite a beautiful lady on your part Izumi. I just thought it was only obvious that boys would hit on you." Inko said with a bit of motherly concern in her voice. To Izumi it did sound weird coming from her, but after yesterday she didn't try to question it. She smiled at it actually…

"Don't worry mom. Can't say for sure that boys like me. I'm weird enough as it is. I'm kinda too much for them I guess." She said in confidence, giving Inko a questioning look at her daughter.

_Really? For someone who's anti-social you're a bit too confident with your words…_

"Don't be so sure dear…" Inko said instead to her as Izumi blushed and laughed in embarrassment. Acknowledging that she was only like that towards people she knew. Then as she was about to ask Inko again with another question, a certain pair of a boy her age and an older woman was about stride past them. The boy had white hair on one side and red hair on the other, his eyes and that distinct deadpan, expressionless face was far too recognizable not to remember.

It was the boy from the bookshop. Izumi quickly tried to gain his attention as they neared them.

"HEY! It's you! Never thought I'd see you again here. What a surprise!" Izumi said as she stood in front of the boy with a smiling face. Inko had her eyes widened in disbelief when just seconds ago Izumi proclaimed that she didn't like boys.

The boy in question however had a confused and uninterested look on his face as he stared down at her, barely recognizing her at all.

"Who are you?" he said.

"Oh right, you don't remember me don't you? Maybe this'll make you remember…" Izumi said as she reached out to her bag and grabbed the set of glasses she wore back then. As she put them on, he was still trying to question who she was in actuality.

"Ring any bells now?" she asked.

"No."

"Oh come on, I didn't change much, except for my hair I guess. It was once green after all."

The boy's companion then leaned down to whisper towards him.

"Shoto, who's this girl? Is she your friend?" the woman asked. Shoto looked at her and frowned, being the only response he could give as he tried to fit Izumi into his memories. Then he recalled something about books, and looking at Izumi now, he got the image he needed.

"Wait a second… you're that girl that helped me buy books for my sister, correct?" he said with a finger pointed at her direction and his companion suddenly jerked in surprise.

"Oh! This was her? You never told me she was cute Shoto. This is great. We got to meet her here of all places! Aren't you glad?" the woman said. The boy never said anything back.

"Are you here just to say hi?" he asked Izumi.

"Of course not. I just didn't expect to see you here. Kinda cool right?"

"To you I guess…"

"Shoto! Come on, I know you're a bit grumpy but can you at least be polite to her?" the woman said as Izumi giggled at the both of them.

"I'm his sister by the way dear, it's nice to meet you. That gift he gave me was something else. I like your taste by the way." The woman said as she shook Izumi's hands. Shoto rolled his eyes as Izumi shook back with a short laugh.

Then the announcer said that the event was about to begin as people began flocking towards the memorial. Shoto and his sister then looked at each other.

"I think it's best we get going. Our dad is part of the event after all. Wouldn't want to make him furious now won't we Shoto?" the woman said as they began to say farewell to Izumi.

"Oh that's okay… I'm just a bit happy that I got to meet you two here. Especially him, it was Shoto right? Nice to see you again, I'm Izumi." Izumi said as she extended her hand towards him. He nodded back, not even taking her hand and started walking away.

"Shoto!"

"See you around I guess…" he said as her sister then turned to Izumi.

"Sorry about him, he's in a grumpy mood but I'll make sure I tell him about this." Izumi smiled back as she understood what the boy's problem was, letting him slide for that awkward reunion. Although, she was glad to see him after with everything that happened in her life ever since they saw each other in the bookstore. The woman then said her goodbyes and caught up with her brother as Izumi stared at the both of them until they were gone from her sight, she then smiled lightly at that encounter and walked back to Inko' side.

"You're lucky that boy wasn't interested in you. Otherwise I would have initiated 'the talk' young lady." Inko warned with a bit of sarcasm and humor in her voice. Izumi blushed and tried to fight back.

"He was just a guy I met in the bookstore mom! There's nothing between us and stop thinking things like that!" she argued.

"Yeah sure… that's what they all say."

"Pfft… what about you and Mr. Yagi, you two seem close after last night. You didn't even tell me you knew him." Izumi said as she crossed her arms. Inko frowned at what she was implying.

"Don't go there, I barely knew him before I saw him at our house."

"So you admit that you DID know him before huh?"

"No… I did not. Stop trying to imply things that aren't true Izumi." Inko firmly said.

"Stop thinking about me liking boys then." Izumi spat back.

"Fine." Inko said as they both stopped, but at the same time they laughed at each other after a few seconds with how ridiculous and childish they both sounded. They finally bought their own stash of flowers and candles as the program was about to begin. People gathered around as most of the heroes, civilians, and law enforcement piled around the memorial as the program started.

It was a silent affair as Izumi and Inko stood there amongst the crowd while the opening speeches, prayers and the like began. Inko, while not a spiritual person was amazed at how much care and passion people gave out for something like this. Though it didn't help at all at making her easy with how this event was being celebrated. Since they were the only two known survivors of that night, and beside her was the girl that started it all. Her heart felt uneasy as multiple speeches from various police officers, heroes, and those whose family or loved ones died that night said out aloud for everyone to hear.

Tall tales of inspiration, recovery, and grief over every death was said too. Inko couldn't help but feel bad for Izumi, but instead of showing it, she held on to her hand and squeezed tightly. Izumi thought that she was being serious and deeply moved by the presentations, which is why she smiled silently at herself, thinking that Inko was finally seeing things her way.

Which was not in that sense at all.

Multiple politicians and officers in every branch also gave out messages for the loss that was left here. Saying and admitting their failure of their response towards this problem years ago. This also funneled into their speeches that acknowledges the failure and what they learned as a unit together. To make sure that this event never happens again.

Inko thought warily of that, no one knew nor predicted the outcome of that night so saying that they learned from it to never let it happen again was foolhardy. Those who dwelt in the shadows knew more than them, and could strike at any moment. Even here, with this many people, tragedy could strike again and worst of all Izumi was here.

Which is why she was being on edge with this place as a lot can happen and transpire within the given minute. That night had a ton of heroes and public services alive and well within reach and they didn't amount a thing. Even if it was different now, even with All Might in place… Inko thought down deep inside herself that realistically having all of these important people in one place was a large target that any person or group could take advantage of.

"Mom… it's the Hero School representative's turn." Izumi whispered and Inko put her eyes back in focus towards the people next to the memorial and true enough, Nemuri along with some members of her faculty with their principal Nezu was there alongside other school representatives.

Inko spotted Aizawa almost instantly within them and to her, he hadn't changed much. But she felt saddened knowing that things could very well not work again between them as friends. She remembers **him** being sort of like a brother to Aizawa and when he died, it left a void within the man. A void that she felt guilty of. She also gazed her eyes on Hizashi, or the current Present Mic, she smiled slightly seeing that goofy grin on his face. Reminding her of old times.

The schools in summary have made messages and speeches about the next generation, and to be honest for Inko, it seemed like the whole event was just people reading the same damn speeches over and over again, dancing around the same point for each given time and for each given speech. She was getting tired of it, false promises and empty vows meant nothing until they proved it. However, she couldn't argue against Izumi for this, as the girl was entirely taken in by each inspirational word and message that it further made her determined to achieve her goal someday.

Inko wondered why it didn't have the same effect for her, but her mind already the said what needed to be said for her part. She already knew what reality was in its most harshest, and sometimes these hopes and dreams never happen at all. But for Izumi, she believed in them and even with the smallest amount of hope left in her heart, she still pushed through.

She was still innocent. Even with the trials she endured when she was young, she was still like that, a child. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

Maybe she needed to believe in hope for herself as well.

Then cheers erupted when the Prime Minister ended his final speech and with that he called upon All Might. The number one hero himself as he landed in the middle of the event alongside the other members of the top ten ranking beside him. There stood the likes of Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and even EdgeShot along with other known heroes as the Symbol of Peace walked towards the mic as people cheered him on. His smile was as big as ever and Inko couldn't help but sigh at how stupid he looked with that big grin. But nobody shared her plight, everybody saw it differently even her daughter.

Though… she was quite happy of seeing him.

He then started saying a small inspiring message before presenting a paper in hand that he wanted to read in front of everyone. Proclaiming that this was part of the millions of students that sent in there good graces for today, he thanked each and every one of them with a few words and quickly stated that this one essay was what stood out from the rest to him. He smiled at the crowd trying to find a certain crimson-haired girl and luckily he did saw her. He held the paper in his hands and began to read out aloud with every inch of heart and love in his voice for the essay he chose.

And when the title and words were heard, Izumi's eyes widened.

It was her essay. Inko wondered what made the girl speechless as she began listening to it. Everyone including her was surprised. Especially the staff that handpicked a certain paper that should have been read to the public, but they let it slide as everyone heard it and took it to heart.

Toshinori on the other hand, simply felt the same thing he did when he first read that paper last night and like how his emotions took it, everyone did the same. At the end of it all down to the last sentence of closing in her essay, everyone was moved.

Then All Might finally thanked everyone that came today with that essay in each of the people's mind and hearts. Suddenly, cheers and claps were heard as almost everyone shed a tear from the inspiring speech he just read. Even Inko was able to smile at it and when she turned to Izumi, she was sobbing lightly in happiness as she wiped her tears.

"Izumi? Why did you cry?" she asked.

"T-That was mine mom… I-I wrote it. I never thought it was the one he chose for today…" she said as she continued to tear up. Inko smiled lovingly at her and pulled her into an embrace. Inko felt solace in this feeling, even with the state that they were in, she wanted to cherish this moment. Making her hold he girl closer to hers in a loving hug as to both of them it was the start of something new. Something different between them… and while it was an uncharted road they held each other's hand tighter, never letting go for what was to come.

"Happy Birthday." Inko said as everyone around them lit their candles to one final prayer and time to mourn. They both watched as everyone, including her and Izumi placed their offerings of flowers and prayer alongside their lit candles towards the memorial slabs.

All in honor for those who passed away that night…

Inko and Izumi then walked away from the scene as the event was over, both fulfilled and ready for what was to come next.

* * *

16:06 Hours, Dagobah Beach…

"You made it." Toshinori said as he smiled, he was now back to his civilian clothes and next to him was Kaguya who also smiled back with her bunny ears standing up in a pleased manner. Izumi ran to him in glee and stopped when she bowed respectfully in front of him. Inko caught up to all of them as she waved at Toshinori. He nodded back as Izumi stood up after bowing so intensely.

"Thank you for reading my speech All Might, though I have to ask. Did you pick mine because I'm your successor? Or did you really think about it at all? Not that I didn't like mine being picked, but surely the work of others may have been better…" the girl nervously said as she fiddled with her fingers. Toshinori put a hand on her head and giggled.

"No it wasn't like that. I just found yours was the best to inhabit all the words that needed to be said today. Congratulations, you did well." he said to her as Izumi nodded back.

"Oh, I almost forgot…" the man then said as he signaled Kaguya to take something out of the bag she was carrying. Izumi and Inko then looked on in surprise as out of Kaguya's hand was a chocolate cake, boxed perfectly as the woman opened it and placed a candle. Toshinori then smiled at Inko with a wink as the girl was speechless yet again today.

After lighting it, Toshinori presented the cake to her.

"Happy Birthday." He said simply as Izumi smiled while Inko placed a hand on her shoulder. She blew the candle with her wish in mind as they all laughed at the end of it. Then Izumi once again thanked the man for taking her into his care.

"Don't worry about it kid… and don't eat too much. We still got training to do today after all." He said as the girl laughed. Inko then smirked as the scene transpired to something she would yet again cherish for herself.

Until… an old and cranky voice interrupted their small party.

"So this is the kid Toshinori?" the old man said, who was oddly wearing a costume that looked like it was aging quite significantly. He had a cane in hand as all eyes were on his white and yellow colored suit. Inko then went next to Toshinori and whispered.

"Who's the old fart?"

He embarrassingly scratched the back of his head as Kaguya began to prepare a table at their back for all of them. Izumi remained her gaze on the old man.

"This is my mentor… my old homeroom teacher Gran Torino, and he's going to be helping in young Midoriya's training starting today." he said in introduction as the old man smirked deviously towards the small girl.

To Inko, out of all the surprises today this was the most bizarre. But much like what everyone already felt, this was the dawn of something new and different for Izumi.

* * *

16:12 Hours, Somewhere in Aldera Ward…

Himiko Toga was glad, she got to see Izu again today. It was easy enough and not even Izu herself recognized her. She was ecstatic as she held a bundle of flowers in her hands. She was walking alone in one of the alleys as she thought about the successful day of seeing her beloved Izumi again. It was easy pretending to be the seller of the camellia flowers and not even the infamous mother of Izumi knew it was her.

Giggling to herself with renewed vigor, the girl started to skip happily into the darkened alleyway. She needed to come home soon. For there was still a few errands to run before she ends the day for herself. Hoping tomorrow something same would occur too.

She can't wait.

As she roamed around with a skip in her step along garbage and waste she suddenly stopped. Feeling something was wrong around her. She then heard movement and within a quick second, she threw a small knife towards the direction of someone hiding themselves along the darkened corner of the alley.

Then she saw a person she didn't want to see today.

"Oh… it's you." She says.

"You haven't been responding to our calls asset. Has something occurred on your end?" the person said. Himiko frowned as she angrily looked at him.

"I never agreed on you people stalking me. Let me do my work and we'll both be pleased."

"Oh… let's not be frisky. The boss wouldn't like you to do something bad right?"

Himiko froze and further got angry at this 'guest'.

"If I so much as hear that he landed a finger on her, I will kill him mercilessly you understand me?" she spat out with as much venom as she could muster. The one she was talking to wasn't perturbed. Then he slowly came out of the shadows, wearing something akin to a medieval plague doctor's mask that covered his entire get-up.

"Then get your shit done Toga… or else your sister pays for your stupidity."

END OF CHAPTER 7

**AN: Like usual I hope you enjoyed guys, oh and watch out for two sidestories coming next as well as Chapter 8, where the first arc of this retelling of MHA ends. Hehe, see you next time.**

**Next Chapter: The Road to UA - Inko, Toshinori, and Gran Torino begin the months long tranign for Izumi. Finishing up and honing the girl with every inch she could give as a surprise revelation about her quirk yet again is revealed. Whilst this happens, her and Katsuki settle a gamble on who would enter UA after the exam, not knowing that Himiko as well as was participating. As the 10 month period ends, Izumi now begins her journey towards being a hero at the School where her dreams could come true... UA! PLUS ULTRA!**


	11. SideStory 3: Cherished Memories

**AN: This fills the gap on where Toshinori and Inko went before he tried to find Izumi's essay in Chapter 7**

* * *

Sidestory #3

"Cherished Memories"

17:36 Hours

Toshinori had finally arrived via cab to his destination. The sudden text from a certain someone called Inko Midoriya relayed her to meet here, in what looked like a local bar that looked cozy and peaceful enough. After paying the driver with a considerable amount, plus tip, he took his phone out and opened up her message again along with the coordinates and address to the place he was in now.

_**Come to this address, alone…**_

He was quite surprised that she was able to text him a message back. He thought she was still bit too emotionally vulnerable to be able to talk to anyone. Although, he did leave a note and asked her there should she need someone to talk to.

But looking at the place where he was now, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He wondered if she was going to get herself drunk here and he did not want to see that happen. Having experienced problematic people drunk before was not a thing he liked to partake in. However, a small feeling inside him was full of concern for the woman's self-being, so he decided that him being here could help a bit at easing whatever problem she had to cause her to come to this place.

He sighed and tucked his phone in.

He understood what was troubling the woman. He understood it well in fact. The issue with how much of a rift existed between her and Izumi was blatantly obvious for them to see. The real reason he even came at all tonight was because he wanted to talk again to Inko and possibly her daughter about the plans he, Kaguya, and Nemuri had thought of after yesterday's... debacle of sorts.

Priority was given to Inko however, she was the one who was most responsible for the girl and she was the direct parent in charge. So all decisions needed to be brought first to her account.

He began thinking of how to best approach her about this situation while he entered. Looking inside, he saw that the bar wasn't that big nor that spacious that much. It was quite small and a few old men along a few more adults were enjoying their drinks quietly. Talking and having conversations within the tables they occupied. Some were even playing at the pool table in the middle of everything. It looked like a calm Sunday night for everyone here as he tried to find the woman he was there for amidst all of it.

He then saw a green-haired woman with a sling still on her injured arm sitting alone by herself at the main bar, next to the barkeep whom was wiping off a few glasses that he had just cleaned. She didn't notice him yet as she had in hand a glass of alcohol for herself, one that she was sipping slowly.

Toshinori found this moment a little bit too coincidental and familiar for him. It was almost like this was the same kind of situation he had gone through when he had first met her. He lightly smiled at that, recalling how that odd day ended for the both of them. At the very least he got to know her there… well excluding all the property damage, the person she just killed and-

He shook his head. That was not the issue now.

He then proceeded to make sure that he looked a bit better than what he intended to be as he stretched his shirt, fixed his wild blonde hair somewhat, and took a deep breath before walking towards her place. Arriving shortly, he sat on the nearest seat next to her and like back then, before he could even say anything, Inko had beaten him to it.

"Took you long enough, Mr. Popular." She said as she stared at her glass and turned her body towards his direction slowly. Her pace was slower because of the injuries she still had, though he didn't mind at all as the woman seemed rather positive compared to her demeanor last night.

"You seem rather cheerful." He said as he settled in his spot.

"I don't know about that, but I'm not as downtrodden as last night." She said in reply as she took another sip of her drink. Toshinori frowned as the woman looked up at him after she put her glass back in her hands.

"What's with the look? Oh, wait… you actually thought I was going to make myself drunk tonight?" she said and began laughing at his disposition as Toshinori looked at her in confusion. She then moved the drink closer towards him and smirked a bit.

"This is pineapple juice mixed with a bit of other special ingredients. This place isn't just a bar for people to get drunk you know, and besides I was waiting for you before the real drinking begins." She said to him with a bit of enthusiasm in her voice, Toshinori smiled back as Inko giggled under his assumption.

"You got me there… though to be fair your text in itself didn't exactly make me comfortable to where this was going. Knowing that this place sells alcohol didn't help too." He said in his defense.

"Aw… are you looking after me that much? I thought you wanted to arrest me the last time we met years ago?" she chided as the man suddenly lost his smile.

Inko then felt his change of demeanor.

"Sorry… didn't mean to pry. I just thought a little humor was needed with the conversation we're in. Looks like I'm pretty terrible at it." she said before drinking a bit more of her drink yet again. Toshinori then shook his head as he threw those thoughts away.

"It wasn't bad, it just didn't land well." he said with a small awkward smile.

"So it was bad." She said as the both of them giggled together.

"By the way… you seem cheerful tonight. Did something happen?" he asked as Inko turned her attention back to him. She then spoke to him.

"Well, you can say that. Part of the reason I wanted to talk to you here now was because of Izumi."

Toshinori paused as Inko continued.

"Did something go wrong?" he asked.

Inko laughed at him as she sipped her drink again.

"Idiot, why would I be laughing and talking right now if something bad had happened?" she said in a teasing manner as Toshinori simply grinned at. Inko then sighed in relief as she thought about what happened today. It wasn't totally the one thing that she wanted, but at the very least she felt accomplished about it.

"Izumi and I are trying to patch things up. I don't think I've earned her apology yet, but I think it's a start between us." As she said this she traced her free hand on the rim of the glass. Her green curls accompanied by her smile of relief made him feel better about himself.

"Tell me more about it… seems you've made an awful lot of progress if you're smiling that way."

"It wasn't really that much, but it was a start."

"Good, it's better that you two are getting along a bit. Especially in the situation we're in. I'm glad you told me about this." He said as Inko looked directly into his eyes.

"What?" he said.

"Can I ask you a question… Toshinori?" she said slowly.

"Of course."

Inko then turned her eyes on her drink and tapped lightly on the glass surface of the drink she had. She looked a bit nervous and cautious with what she was about to say.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked while not looking at him.

Toshinori then sighed and tried to think why exactly. While he had been thinking about this same thought over and over again after everything that's happened yesterday, he still did not have an answer. Even Kaguya noticed it.

"I'm not really sure what to say… maybe it's because even back then I really wanted to help you. For what reason, I can't say." He said to her.

"Are you really trying to help me? Or is it just because of Izumi?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?" he said to her as Inko then firmly looked straight into his eyes again. The same eyes he saw way back then when they first met, that fierce and strong glare that he grew to see from time to time in their glory days.

"Because if other people knew about my situation, they wouldn't hesitate to put me to jail for everything I did back then. Wouldn't blame them too, but I don't care of what they think as well. I chose to do those things and even with how bad the choices lead me to where I am now, my only lingering regret as of late was because I never got to be a real mother to Izumi…"

He took in every word she said and nodded.

"Which is why I wanted to ask you properly this time. Why are you exactly helping me? Is it for Izumi's sake or mine?" she finished as Toshinori was put on the spot. He had an answer however.

"Both. I want to help you both, even if it wasn't for Yung Izumi's situation, I would have helped you regardless. It's true you deserve to be in jail, but I believe in second chances and to me, your daughter is that second chance. Which is why I'm going to help you whether you like it or not."

Inko stared for a moment and snickered at his response. For a very serious moment, her sudden turn to laughing was something he did not expect at all.

"For fuck's sake… you really are the same goody-two shoes fuck I met years ago… heh, that was cute of you. You made me laugh." She said and Toshinori frowned, but at the very least the side of her that he knew best emerged again. Even in his presence

"But thanks… I can accept that." She said with a truthful enough grin on her face that he rolled his eyes with and giggled with her as well.

"You're welcome." He said in reply as Inko nodded.

"Just promise me Toshinori… whatever happens you think of Izumi's sake more than mine alright? She's the only thing that matters to me, and it would mean the world to know that she's in a better condition than mine." She said to him, with as much selflessness in her voice as she could muster.

He had to admit, she was no hero. Nor will she ever be, but the drive to keep her daughter safe was the best thing he admired about her.

"I will Inko."

Inko smiled as she took finished her drink.

"It's weird hearing you say my real name. I kinda forgot how it felt when people kept calling me Jade… and thanks by the way for that name suggestion. It stuck with me to the end. Much like most of the things you and I share."

"I don't know about that, but I like your name… Inko. Has a ring in it that I can't say why I like it so much." He commented as Inko smirked.

"There again with your stupid attempts at flirting. Dear God, you're absolutely hopeless."

"I'm not."

"Sure… keep saying that." She said as she smirked deviously at him. They then proceeded to make small talk until the topic of what Toshinori and the others planned for Izumi was put in the forefront. After finishing the last of her drink's contents, she did agree with what the plan entailed.

It was sensible to pick UA of all schools, since he was going to teach there next year and most pro heroes who worked there including Nemuri were capable enough to keep her safe. She liked the possibility, the only problem was something that was mentioned about Nemuri's colleagues. Unfortunately for her, she had a history in regards to two individuals working at UA and while Nemuri had forgiven her after everything that had happened so far, those two didn't. So seeing them again in person was a liable detail that could turn for the worst.

She didn't like that. Since it would hurt Izumi's chances at safety. Plus, it wouldn't help too that should things go wrong, she could end in jail for all of this. Even with the back up support that Nemuri and Toshinori had, it wasn't going to be enough for them to keep her out of the law's way.

As she thought of it deeply, Toshinori began to worry at her as she was currently looking distant towards the endless amounts of vodka bottles placed on the shelf in front of them.

"You went silent there for a second…" he said as he nudged her lightly. She looked at him and thought about what to say. He leaned a bit forward to assure her.

"I told you that you can talk to me right? That's why I'm here in the first place."

"S-Sorry… was just thinking about this plan of ours."

"You don't like it?"

"No, I think it's a good plan. Better than anything actually, it's just that…"

"This is about Aizawa isn't it?"

Inko looked at her and figured that Nemuri would tell them about their circle of friends back in the day. As much as those memories were something to look back on in fondness, it was also a source of bitter sadness, and guilt most of all for her.

"You can say that." She said softly in a somber sense.

"Not that I want to force you to talk about it, but can you tell me what's going on with you and the others that Midnight told me about? Specifically, the surname you used as your cover."

Inko started having flashbacks. A smile she missed so badly. A presence she yearned after his disappearance, and that comforting voice that made her feel calm even in the most terrible of circumstances. She was shaking lightly as her free hand tried to clench in order to stop herself from feeling this way. She was about to feel the guilt and sadness again filling her senses until a comforting hand placed itself on top of hers. A warm feeling that burned away slowly all the sadness she felt at that moment, then she looked and saw that the hand that was placed was none other than the companion she had now.

He looked at her with a comforting smile as Inko's hand unbeknownst to her had clasped his tightly as well. She had the strength again to try and say things about that past of hers that she tried to bury deeply inside of her.

"Hisashi. Hisashi was his name." she said to him.

She then turned to him and thanked him for keeping her steady, he smiled back as Inko then smiled of all the fondest memories of the past. Particularly the bar they were in right now. This was the place where she and her friends would have fun back in the day. It wasn't a bar back then but a small club that used to host students like her in their young age. While a lot had changed since then, she could still remember the smiles and faces she, Nemuri, Shota, Hizashi, and **him** had shared together here from parties to get-togethers. Especially the times she spent with Hisashi Midoriya, the ones she still carried inside her heart dearly even after all these years.

It was a faint memory from a bygone age, but it remained.

"Toshinori…"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever cherished or loved someone so deeply in your life?" she asked and Toshinori then began thinking for himself. He never had experience of this feeling at all, even in his younger days. The fate and safety of the world was what mattered to him most.

"Can't say I do."

"Well… I did, and that person was Hisashi." She said with a somber smile. She then gestured to the barkeeper to fetch them two shot glasses filled with vodka, her favorite drink. After pouring for both of them, she looked at Toshinori.

"Inko… you don't need to tell me if it's a sore subject-"

"It's fine Mr. Popular… you've already done so much on my part and told me about your past as well last night, the only thing I can do is repay the favor. That and I'm paying for the alcohol as well so enjoy it as it lasts…" she said with a warm and cheerful smile after the sudden sadness she felt earlier, Toshinori smiled back as she pushed the other glass towards him.

He was in gratitude for the offer.

There was one problem though…

"I-I can't take this." He said to her, as she smiled at him.

"Hey don't worry it's on me. I owe you right?"

"No… it's not that."

"What is it then?" she softly asked him.

"Can't really drink in my current state." He admitted to her as Inko grew wide eyed and stared at the two shot glasses.

"Oh."

* * *

23:16 Hours…

Toshinori was slowly carrying on his back a passed out Inko Midoriya, having to confess about her past in regards to the situation of her old friends, she had to lay it all down and tell him about what happened. This included her drinking down and finishing one bottle of vodka by herself, since he wasn't allowed nor even possible for his body to take in such a drink. He asked her not to pursue it further but she relented. Pouring away all the sadness, tears, and pain she had as she unknowingly made him her shoulder to cry on. She passed out after drunkenly telling him some awkward stories about their encounters back in the day. While he did enjoy the talks they had in that state of hers, he hated seeing her this way.

The woman had a lot of baggage to carry. All the details and stories that she confessed to him was something he did not anticipate. He understood now more than anybody about her situation. Her past, her present, and the reason why all her choices and decisions lead her to this path. He pitied and almost shared her sadness when she talked about Hisashi Midoriya as well as all the memories she shared with that man. Why she became a villain in the first place, and why he was out of the picture and never heard of again.

He understood the woman really well now and even with all the baggage and pain she carried, he made it a promise to help her with it. Much like how he promised Izumi the same.

The situation with Aizawa and their other friend was something he understood better now. He now knew why Nemuri and Inko was so concerned about their possible reunion but they had no choice at the matter and even with how scared Inko was about this plan, she still agreed to put Izumi through it. UA was still the best route that they needed to take and he hoped that the broken rift she shared with those people would be mended enough for her daughter's sake.

Izumi's situation was hard enough as it is right now… putting this factor in place while something to think of, was not a priority that they could risk over Izumi's safety. Which is why at the end of the day they could only hope for the best when that day comes of their reunion.

He hopes that all will be okay by then.

"T-Toshinori…" Inko slurred as she rested her head on the back of his neck. She felt comfort in his fuzzy blonde hair as Toshinori climbed up the steps towards Nemuri's apartment, their household.

"Yeah?" he replied back.

"Y-You o-owe m-me a d-dance... f-for m-making me t-this d-drunk... i-idiot." She said and before he could reply back, she passed out again. He smiled as he took note of that. Tomorrow was the Aldera Memorial day and while he still had preparations that needed to be done for tomorrow, he intended to see this one finished first. Since he cared so much for Inko…

He stopped when he thought about it. He cared for her. Even with how much confused emotions he had with the woman, he only saw someone that needed saving with his hands, and with that said, he did admit it. He cared for her.

He smiled at that thought as he continued climbing up the stairs.

He then arrived briefly at the doorstep of the apartment as he knocked softly, and after a bit of waiting Nemuri opened the door with a surprised look of a passed out Inko in his back. He explained what happened as they helped the woman inside by carrying her carefully. As they entered the household, he noticed Izumi sleeping on the couch, Nemuri then told him that she was waiting for Inko after all this time and she passed out herself. He offered to bring Inko back to her bedroom like last night and she awkwardly said yes, though she was amused at how interested he was in doing so.

As he tucked her in, he left a moment for himself to look at her face before closing the door behing him with a small smile. He did the same for Izumi as well, tucking the girl into her room and bed while also assuring she was comfortable.

After finishing, he was walked towards the doorway and before he left home for himself, he turned to face Midnight who was in gratitude at how much he did for all of them involved.

"Thanks again by the way." She said.

"You don't need to thank me."

"She told you everything didn't she?"

He then recalled Inko's confession about everything including what happened with Hisashi.

"Yeah. She did."

"Then you know how hard it's going to be when we ask for UA's help."

"I know. But we have to go through with it and hope for the best. It's what they both need right now. Hope. Hope that something good will happen for Izumi and maybe for Inko as well."

Nemuri smiled and tried to convince herself of All Might's words. She wasn't totally comfortable about it yet, but she was determined. Toshinori then wondered something about tomorrow.

"Say… Inko told me about Izumi's special day tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Oh right… you mean her birthday? Yeah, I guess so. We haven't really celebrated it at all after everything that's happened."

"Well I was hoping to do something for the girl tomorrow. It doesn't need to be big, just something special for her."

"What do you have in mind?" Nemuri asked in interest.

"Has she sent in an essay for tomorrow's event?"

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 7: HARD-EARNED VINDICATIONS

* * *

**AN: I hoped you liked another installment of the sidestories! While I did not reveal exactly what this 'past' Inko has with Hisashi, I will do it in time for future arcs. Since I decided that having Izumi know about this past is better than just blatantly revealing these series of events through Inko's dialogue. It'll help too once we dig in what Aizawa's thoughts on Izumi and Inko once they enter the girl to UA. So for now, a bit of character development between these two characters was needed as breather between them. It was also fun to write this short part of the story since I actually planned this since the very start of this story's conception. Hope you liked it as much as I had fun making it.**

**Oh, and yes like I said in Chapter 7 we get to have one more Sidestory before Chapter 8, and it's titled as "Remnant"**

**See ya next time guys!**


	12. Sidestory 4: Remnant

**AN: Hi guys, before we start I just need to say that this sidestory was supposed to be released yesterday, but since I had trouble thinking about how to make this and structure it for the story, I had to constantly revise and rethink what needed to be put here, or if I should post it at all. The reason being is the content is dark and violent. I had to omit and remove a lot of graphic descriptions and dialogue here to make it suitable for the T rating. But yes, even if this wasn't posted the events here are canon to this story. With that said, even with the removal and toned down version of this sidestory, it still ended pretty darn dark and slightly-less violent.**

**The original was longer and had more things to say, but I ended it like this for it to have sense in regards to this story's version of Himiko Toga and why her psyche is like this. Like I said a few chapters back, Toga is still the blood-lusting crazy girl we all know and love but this version has a little bit of more weight as to why she is like that and I will explore this further in the story as we put focus on her. This also gives me the honor of asking you if you want the uncut version of this sidestory separately posted from this fic, because if you want to, I could do it gladly for you guys... This would give more freedom when its posted with the M rating.**

**That's all for now though... so I hope you tune in to what happens here and the future... Thanks :)**

* * *

Sidestory #4

"Remnant"

Heavy and violent pounding on the door was heard. Angry voices and hateful comments were thrown as wooden barrier was slowly broken down with each hit. As this happened, a woman with her two younger daughters were struggling in panic to hide against the incoming danger. Their house was large and there were so many hiding spots, the only problem was none of them could hide their presences for long. Panic could be heard in each and one of them, as the youngest daughter began crying in fear. The mother, holding her youngest in her arm while also holding the arm of her elder daughter began to search rapidly for a place where they could be safe.

The pounding on the door intensified. It won't be long before they themselves would be seen and discovered, or even worse killed. One of the children, the elder daughter while running through the hallways with her mother fell forcefully on the floor as she slipped by a random toy that her feet stepped on. The mother picked her up quickly as they ran again, this time upstairs towards the bedrooms.

"Mom! W-Who are those people? W-why are they breaking the door?"

"J-Just follow me baby… just follow me. W-We need to hide… there's no ti-"

As they reached the top floors, they heard the door downstairs broken down finally. The mother then pulled both of her daughters into nearest room, which was the younger girl's room. Their mother then gave the younger child to the older girl as she locked the room rapidly. She then looked at the desk nearest to the door as she moved it to block the doorway. They started hearing voices as the baby girl continued to cry in fear. The mother looked at them both with a concerned and worried expression.

"Cover her mouth… they'll hear us." She whispered as the older daughter placed her hand on the crying baby's mouth. The older daughter, was afraid herself as she saw her mother trying desperately to barricade the doors with little to no success. The lock to this room was broken and the mother then began to curse and tear up on her own as she thought of ways to save her two children.

"M-Mom?" the older daughter said, her face pale in fear and shock.

She then quickly wiped her tears and looked at the young girl as voices started to get heard from outside of the room. People, whoever they were started breaking in and were wrecking mayhem in their home. With each crash and scream they heard of the people trying to find them, the older girl began shaking in her knees as she held her baby sister.

"M-Mom… I'm scared." She said.

The mother felt the horror in her chest fill up as she saw her two beloved children quaking in fear. She didn't want to do this, but she looked at the both of them and finally decided for herself on what to do. She looked around and saw a closet as well as the closed window by the bed. She then grabbed her daughter's shoulders with a sad smile on her face.

"Honey… I need you to do something for me."

"W-What?"

"I need you to hide in the closet. You and your sister. Make sure she stays quiet; do you understand me?" she said as she looked at the girl's red eyes.

"M-Mom… what's happening?"

"There's no time… I need you to hide and please…" she said as a tear escaped her eyes. The older daughter had tears too streaming down her cheeks, but the mother smiled sadly and wiped them softly and comfortably… for what might have been the last time.

"…Please take care of your sister…"

"M-Mom."

Heavy steps were heard from the outside as sounds of gunshots, quirk-use, and weapons being used to break down doors one by one came to their senses.

The mother grabbed and squeezed the girl's hand as she gave them a soft kiss. One of her and one for the baby who was still crying.

"M-Mom…"

"Your sister needs you now. Protect her for me… will you do that?"

The girl didn't reply as she sadly stared at her mother.

"I-I don't know… I-I'm scared mom."

"Me too… but I need you to be strong. I want you both to be strong…"

She then embraced them as the noises outside intensified.

"Promise me Himiko… promise me you'll protect your sister."

The older daughter, whose name was Himiko nodded in tears as they separated from their embrace. She held her sister tightly in her arms, the girl was still in tears but calmed down from crying. Their mother then quickly opened the closet quietly and snuck them in. The closet which had a key to lock them in was given to the older daughter.

**THOOM! **

Fear was present in all of them as the mother closed the closet while giving one last smile to both of her children until Himiko's vision darkened. The closet was locked shut. The girl then put her attention towards her sister who was trying to reach out for their mother outside. She was still sobbing, even though she was calmer this time, it didn't help at all that they both felt the same for the fate of their mother.

They were scared.

Himiko then tucked her sister in closer towards her as she moved them further and deeper inside the closet, moving and scrounging to distance themselves from the closet doors. Not much light was inside, except for a small opening at the side of the left closet door, which left minimal vision for seeing what was happening outside.

Himiko felt her heart race faster than ever when she heard her mother scramble outside for something heavy, and threw it down the glass window in a very audible and destructive crash.

Glass shards were thrown everywhere as the pounding on the door continued. Himiko kept her sister close as she tried to see through the small opening gap where the light was shining from. She then saw her mother trying desperately to hold the barricade in place on the door to the room.

Seconds passed as the pounding on the door grew worse and worse.

Words and sentences of angry men yelling outside the door was heard. Himiko's vision and body were shaking and quaking in fear. Asking what was happening and why it all lead to this. Why did their mother have to hide them here? What about her?

What was going to happen to her?

Himiko then started to hear the mean voices congregating on the door outside. Words she didn't know were thrown out towards her mother. Angrily asking for things that she didn't know why they wanted. Her mother kept yelling to leave them alone. To stop them from coming in and to stop this madness. None seemed to work as the next few sequence of events was something that Himiko would never forget for the rest of her life.

First, the door was broken open.

Her mother was thrown down to the ground as the noises intensified, she put a firm hand on her sister's mouth to stop her from crying and being heard as she continued to watch in horror at what was transpiring right before her very eyes.

Her mother was begging on the ground as a total of four men came inside the room, circling her. One had a gun on his hands, the other three along with the leader of the group were holding weapons that ranged from blunt to sharp objects, all of them had blood laced in their tips or even the entirety of the weapon.

They began asking questions as her mother inched away in fear. Questions that varied in every sentence, as well as questions that asked where she was and her baby sister. Himiko wanted to crawl into an empty space with her sister as the way how these mean men asked where they were wasn't pleasant. Their mother tried to explain and tried luring them away from this room, but it didn't help at all when the leader screamed with such volume about where their location was.

Himiko tightened the grip on her sister's mouth. She was flailing wildly in her grasp, trying to cry and sob out aloud as screaming and crying was heard. The girl wanted to do the same as the situation worsened. She looked at her sister and tried to beg internally that they wouldn't be heard, that everything would just go away and stop.

That everything would return back to what once it was.

Her hands shook wildly as sweat dripped down her forehead. Her lips pursed as their mother tried to talk to the scary and mean man. She couldn't hear the conversation, but suddenly everything became quiet. The noises suddenly stopped as the men outside were staring down at their mother.

Then the second horrible thing that happened transpired…

At first, it looked like it was normal… until the leader leaned down and their mother began begging about something. Begging about something that she did not want to happen to her. Himiko's eyes widened when the man through what she could see began caressing her mother's face as their mother began to sob silently. Tears running down her cheeks as the man put a hand around her neck…

And slammed her to the floor, gagging as the men around her began laughing.

Himiko had her jaw drop, even with the risk of her screaming. She could not believe this.

Then her mother tried to fight back with little to no strength that she had left as her arms weakly tried to stave the leader away as laughter… continuous laughter filled the room.

Maniacal laughter that grew to such a volume that Himiko was inaudible to it.

Their mother persisted to a point that the leader suddenly grew furious. Himiko's eyes widened again as her mouth opened further in shock. She bore witness to something that she did not expect to see it at all in her lifetime.

**THWACK!**

That sound, coupled with laughter…

**THWACK!**

Heavy, labored breathing from both sides… hers and her mother. Her sister suddenly crying amidst the hand she had covered on her mouth. Her grip slowly loosening.

**THWACK! THWACK!**

The girl's vision was slowly turning red as her mother's hand began to slowly dwindle in strength. Droplets of blood were slowly filling everywhere her eye could see.

She was speechless as it continued. With no sign of stopping. Laughter intensifying…

**THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!**

Her sister's cries were drowned out by the laughter around them. She slumped on the side of the closet as she continued to hear those sounds accompanied by the laughter. With each sound was a twitch of the lifeless hand of her mother that she could see.

It continued relentlessly. She couldn't even tell how long it continued. She just heard the same thing over… over again, she didn't even notice that her sister stopped crying. She just sat there with all the horror placed on her face, her paled and weakened body followed suit with how her emotions transpired on that moment.

**THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!**

A tear ran down her cheek when the noises suddenly stopped. She only saw a bloodied pipe that was dripping atop of her mother's lifeless arm.

Then Himiko's lips curved a bit in a sad but nonsensical smile. Red.

Red… that was all she saw.

Red. The Red and Juicy Blood… she started to giggle to herself, she did not know why but she started to, and her sister stared at her in confusion. Then as the noises stopped, the locks on the closet were broken free from the outside. the doors violently opened as Himiko held her sister in shock. They were now bare to the eyes of the intruders.

Their bodies, clothes, arms, and weapons laced with blood splats. Their grins grew ever wider as they saw the both of them. To Himiko, when they began talking she could not hear a word they said, only gibberish in her mind as her eyes drifted under them where she could only minimally see their mother, dead on the floor. Moments earlier, she could remember her sad smile, her last smile… one that she tried to imitate right now.

Red… the color was everywhere in her vision.

She stared at the intruders with a teary yet maniacal smile. They suddenly grew furious at her and one of them was about to grab her baby sister when Himiko's memories kicked in…

_"Promise me Himiko… promise me you'll protect your sister."_

She started laughing… as the men tried to grab her sister away, she pulled on with all the strength left in her body as the adrenaline kicked in. Her baby sister, crying in fear as she was being pulled away by her shirt…

Now the sounds were her sister's crying… what was next?

"ERI!"

**THWACK!**

A metal pipe was smacked into her cheek and she fell back to the closet. Her vision wobbly, her mental state losing its grip on her as her slurred vision watched her sister being taken into the hands of the intruders. They were laughing again…

Laughing… much like what happened with their mother.

Her grin widened as tears flowed down. She asked herself why did this happen? Why was she suffering like this? And would her sister be taken too?

She watched as she tried to lift herself up from where she laid. But her body wouldn't cooperate. There was no hope. No solace. Nothing.

Just red… just red.

Blood Red…

Then as they laughed she reached out to her sister, who was crying and reaching out to her as well. They were about to give her the same treatment as their mother, until…

**FWASHHH!**

A luminous source of light blinded everyone in the room and from where the man who held her sister stood, was now only clothes. Clothes that fell on the floor. Himiko, in quick succession lunged at her sister and grabbed her. Her eyes full of fear as a horn-like protrusion grew on the side of her head. It was small but it sputtered out like a light.

She was confused.

What just happened? Then she saw that the men around her were still blinded from the flash of light, with quick thinking she looked around the room and saw a knife left of the man that flashed out of existence. She grabbed it gingerly into her hands and saw her reflection on it. Red… bright red.

She placed her sister on the floor, and her grin widened.

With no more tears… no more sadness…

Nothing.

She smiled as she held the knife in her hands… and the joy of hearing the sounds that came next was cathartic. She savored every moment of it… for the rest of her life.

**SPLAT!**

** SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!**

** SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!**

** SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!**

** SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!**

Her obsession grew with each sound. She was the one laughing this time… she was the one having fun this time. She loved that sound. The splatter… the redness. She bellowed her laughs with such vigor that it was orgasmic…

No screams drowned out the sound as she continued her work in glee.

* * *

Eri sat next to the corpse of their dead mother. Her sister, still continued to play. She was afraid now, with how much she laughed. How much she enjoyed the redness. The only thing she could do was sit there and close her eyes as the sounds continued.

Holding the cold-lifeless hand of their mother as she sobbed silently to herself. Not even the pain of the sudden appearance of her horn put her in much fear than what she experienced today. Nothing was close to it. She could only cry as Himiko continued to laugh.

Then she couldn't handle it anymore…

She opened her eyes and tried to walk slowly towards her sister who was still laughing… the sounds continuing. The redness everywhere. Then as she neared her sister, she embraced her back.

The noises stopped. Hopefully for the last time as Eri cried into her sister. She heard the sound of metal clanking as Himiko turned towards her, even in her bloodied state the love for her sister remained. She shook in worry as she embraced Eri slowly into her own arms.

Both crying into each other as a silent understanding of pain and sadness came into them.

Redness was still in Himiko's vision. But her sister was what mattered.

They both laid there in each other's arms, silent and surrounded by the color red.

Everything… was red still.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**Final Notes: Oh and about the new detail of the story put here, in regards to Eri... this was planned heavily by me and my friend who are both working for this story so that it would have an interesting and cohesive plot. We argued and talked about this change and how it would impact the story and we both agreed that it would be an interesting take to go with. So... if you are curious as to where this goes, never fear for we are both making sure that this goes as satisfying as it is when we move the plot further.**

**And for Chapter 8... well, we are finally finishing the first OC arc I planned on writing and it also contains the start to Izumi's UA Entrance Exam endeavor. So watch out for the next release fellas! Bye**


	13. VIII The Road to UA

VIII. The Road to UA

"Scrawny kid." Gran Torino said as he took a cup of water that Toshinori poured for him. Him, Gran Torino and Inko were watching Izumi carry groups upon groups of trash that ranged from small to something bigger. Clearly after days of being of being put in the same routine, she was getting used to the fatigue and stress that came with this training regimen. Kaguya was keeping up with her while carrying a bottle and towel in hand just in case the girl needed it. But as the minute went by, even Gran Torino himself was astonished at how much dedication and determination the girl had with each load and each time she ran back and forth to carry such varied weights. It reminded him of a certain blonde boy back in the day, the same blonde boy who was pouring water into his cup.

"But I gotta hand it to her, she's got some good stamina in that frail body. Have you been keeping tabs on her progress with that?" the old man said towards Toshinori as he nodded.

"Yeah, it's been a few days now. It's amazing how much she improved, the first few days had her complaining day and night about how hard and tiring it was. Now, well you can see for yourself." He said proudly that Inko smirked a bit at.

"THIS IS SO HEAVY!" Izumi suddenly screamed as she dropped what seemed like a mini fridge on the sand. Kaguya for some reason was cheering her on as the girl tried to slowly lift the large thing again. Inko giggled as Toshinori mentally face palmed at himself.

"She has a lot of work ahead for her. If she's the one you chose specifically for this inheritance of One for All then I can see some of the reasons why. In fact, I see a lot of similarities between the two of you when you started out like this." The old man said as Toshinori couldn't decide whether that was a compliment of somewhat of an insult.

"With all due respect Gran Torino, she's been trying her best."

"Yeah. I can see that." He said to him as they saw Izumi grabbing another sizable item that was twice her size. This time it looked like a medium-sized washing machine that she (tirelessly) tried to lift with such a slow pace. However, after watching her further, she made it and even though she was huffing for a breath and grabbing Kaguya's water bottle, she continued still to find another object to lift again.

"I told you the kid's got guts… and I'm sure she's a worthy enough candidate for my quirk." Toshinori proudly said again as Inko watched the two talk about Izumi.

"Alright… but even with all of that said, I still don't see why you wanted help with training her so that her body can withstand 'One for All'. You already got that department done and even if I were to help here, I would only be just as good like you. You could have at least called me when the kid already had your quirk, because if that was the case I would have already started her training for her to master it."

Inko and Toshinori looked at each other.

"Well that's the problem Gran Torino…" Toshinori said.

"And that is?"

"She already has 'One for All'." Toshinori said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. The old man's eyes widened as he looked at the girl, and wondered if what was said to her was true. He then put his eyes back to Toshinori, because if the kid indeed had 'One for All' then she should have been showing signs of it. Yet seeing her now, he could only see a child trying her best to lift heavy objects that would have been easier if the quirk was functioning given the rate she was pushing herself.

"What's going on here?" he asked in suspicion. Before Toshinori could speak, Inko took over as she walked closer to where the old man stood.

"I'm afraid your former student left more than a lot of details missing when he called you here."

"And you are?" the old man asked. Inko bowed in respect towards him and spoke.

"I'm Inko Midoriya, her mother." She said as she offered her free hand for a handshake. One that the old man reluctantly but respectfully shook back.

"You know, you two don't look alike at all. Are you sure you're her mother?"

Toshinori coughed at that suggestion but Inko wasn't fazed.

"Anyway, as Toshinori said… my daughter already has All Might's quirk and it was passed on to her through… non-traditional means."

Gran Torino then gazed back at Izumi who was sitting momentarily on what was a microwave while talking and drinking a bottle of water with Kaguya who was also having a conversation with her. Izumi was laughing while the woman's bunny ears drooped in slight annoyance.

"What does that mean?" the old man firmly said and looked intensely at the both of them, Toshinori and Inko that is. Since his old friend was the former user of the 'quirk' which was the one who gave 'One for All' to Toshinori, it also became a responsibility of his to ensure to where and whom the next inheritor was. As well as knowing if he or she was a worthy one to possess it.

He didn't doubt the judgement of his former student, but he did begin to question what was really going on here.

"Toshinori told me that 'One for All' was inherited through means of sharing DNA, and that if the former user was willing to pass it on, correct?" the old man nodded.

"Well… Izumi's quirk was able to consume a part of Toshinori's quirk. Making her the default host of 'One for All' now, alongside her own quirk."

Gran Torino was left confused. He tilted his head in question. Trying to understand what was going on here. Toshinori again, tried to explain to the old man.

"Look Gran Torino, this isn't a normal case we're dealing here. The whole reason I left out a lot of details in regards to young Izumi's condition is because it was better that you saw it for yourself. Yes, she has 'One for All' and she did in fact made it her own after her quirk accidentally tried to consume mine."

"With that said though, we haven't seen instances of Izumi using or even remotely showing signs that she has 'One for All'. Because based on how it functions in Toshinori, she doesn't seem to have those abilities manifesting yet, or maybe not at all given how her own quirk functions…" Inko added.

Gran Torino looked at the both of them in further confusion than before.

"I don't understand a lick of sense of what you two are trying to say to me. What do you mean she has your quirk? She can't even lift a damn microwave without shaking her legs see?" the old man said to them as they both saw Izumi yet again lifting the appliance with effort.

"That's the point old man… we don't know what's going on with Izumi as well. This quirk of hers, while I do know a good deal about it, is something that even we can't wholly understand nor quantify. Believe me and Toshinori, she has 'One for All' coursing in her veins…" Inko said.

"Which is why we need your help with her Gran Torino… because even we don't know how it all fits for young Izumi." Toshinori added as he put a hand on his chin. He looked at the girl again who was sweating rapidly towards all the work she was doing.

"You mean to say… her quirk, is something else entirely…" he said slowly.

"Yes." Both Inko and Toshinori said.

"Something that can even affect 'One for All', is that correct?"

"Unfortunately speaking… yes." Inko said in a reluctant agreement.

"What is her quirk anyway? Do you two care to explain it to me?" the old man said as they both looked at each other again. Before they could speak however, two more people were spotted heading towards their destination. It was Nemuri and Dr. Shigechi.

Inko waved at her friend as they exchanged a hug as Toshinori and the doctor shook hands. The two introduced the two new arrivals towards the old man and after doing so, Nemuri tried to find Izumi. Inko pointed them towards the duo who were still doing their job on the beach together. This time, Izumi was carrying a small radiator in hand.

"What's with the sudden visit Nemuri?" Inko asked of which her and Toshinori alongside the old man waited in anticipation. The doctor then nodded towards Nemuri and headed to the nearest table to open the suitcase he carried.

"I got good news. Nezu has agreed to talk to us this week. He's very eager to know about this situation and since Gran Torino is here as well, it'll be easier to convince him." Inko and Toshinori felt relief when they both heard that, Gran Torino however was still confused and annoyed with all the things that were happening around him and for some reason they were adding him into it too.

"Hey I haven't agreed to anything yet." The old man complained.

"It's best I think that you should see this. In fact, now that we're all here we can see the special device the good doctor made for Izumi." Nemuri said to all of them.

"Device? What device?" Inko asked as the doctor opened it and revealed what seemed like a headband with two short, red horn-like antennas sprouting from it. He gave it to Inko's hand as she and Toshinori examined it.

"What is this?" Toshinori asked.

"I handcrafted this item after the little incident with Izumi in regards to her losing blood from usage of her quirk. This thing, while may not entirely stop the effects of such a drawback, will ease the girl from all the intense sensations her quirk makes." Dr. Shigechi explained.

"Wait… that kid lost blood?" Gran Torino said in surprise between the conversation.

"I see… this will help her then?" Inko asked as Toshinori took the item from her hands after she examined it. He looked at it with such curiosity as Nemuri continued to talk.

"The doctor here based the design of the headband close to how your mask functions. These two 'horns' will theoretically control the mental concentration Izumi uses when she activates her quirk, thus creating a sort of field that eases her nervous system when it's responding towards the drawback. It won't remove the loss of blood but it'll ease the pain and make her concentrate the outage she creates by a mile so that she can mitigate it." after saying this Inko was astonished at the device, and was somewhat thankful that the design was taken from her own mask that helped her in so much occasions.

"Will it work?" Toshinori asked.

"I've tested it for safety reasons only, to see if the device functions we need to put it on her and test it." the doctor said as Toshinori nodded, calling out to Kaguya to pause the girl's training for a moment. The both of them did as said and Izumi ran towards them seeing that Nemuri was there. She embraced her aunt in happiness for seeing her here, while Inko felt a bit jealous. She didn't seem to receive that kind of affection yet.

"What a surprise! I didn't know you'd come Aunt Nemu!" Izumi said.

"Just here to stop by dear… and to give a present." Nemuri said as she took the headband and gave it to her. Izumi was in awe at the weird but cool (at least to her) looking headband and wondered for what it's used for.

"I don't think I need to wear a headband; my hair is tied already…" Izumi said with a grin. Inko and Nemuri smirked as Inko went near Izumi and fitted the headband into the girl's head.

"It's something your aunt made for you Izumi. Something that will help you control your quirk better." Inko explained. The girl tapped the headband with her hands as she adjusted it to fit on the top of her head. As she did so, the device clicked in place and was firmly positioned on where it was.

"This'll make me control my quirk better?" Izumi asked on confusion.

"It'll also ease the drawback so that last time won't happen again Izumi… though, I think you should still try to use as less of your quirk as possible." Nemuri added. Izumi then nodded at her aunt as she tried to concentrate on using her quirk. She took a deep breath as small sparks of red energy came to life atop her head. Instead of it flying wildly like last time, they were focused on the now two glowing horns of the headband. While last time she felt a bit of numb pain at the back of her head, this time there wasn't any and she was surprised at how smoothly her control of it was right now. Then her eyes glowed in crimson much like the weak hum of her slightly redder hair. Her vision turned to that of her sensory view, which now she could see varying colors of the people in front of her.

Inko's was bright colored Green. _Maximal Telekinesis/Pyrokinesis…_

Nemuri's was a lighter shade of Violet. _Somnambulist…_

Toshinori was a surprisingly weaker glowing Rainbow color. _One for All…_

Kaguya was akin to yellow Orange. _Oryctolagus__…_

Dr. Shigechi was closer to a Bluish tint. _X-Ray…_

And Gran Torino was that of the color Yellow. _Jet…_

Izumi then felt a weird sensation as she saw each of the people she saw within her vision, like a vague hint of what their quirk was is being telegraphed to her. She didn't know that this was a feature of her quirk and she was simply amazed by it (as well as the implications that it meant for her future endeavors). She smiled as she turned her vision off.

"This is awesome. Wow. I didn't even feel anything at all when I used my vision." Izumi said as she started to fantasize how this part of her quirk will be used both for her own sake and for everyone around her. She started to slowly mumble again until Inko put a hand on her shoulder. Clearly to all of them the device worked properly.

"That's wonderful dear, but we need one more test." She looked around and saw a large broken monitor in this dump. She looked at Toshinori and asked for him to bring it here. He nodded and transformed into his powered form. Lifting the appliance with ease and placing it with just enough space between Izumi and it.

Gran Torino watched closely as Nemuri and the doctor hoped that the device would hold in another test, this time in a wider application. As soon as the appliance was in place, Inko nudged Izumi's shoulder, urging her to continue.

"Just make sure you don't use too much of your quirk Izumi. We'll be here once something happens." Inko said as Izumi nodded with Kaguya and All Might ready at both sides in case something went wrong.

Izumi then took another deep breath and tried to focus. Sparks of red electricity came out of her horns and her eyes glowed again in red. She aimed her hands towards the large broken monitor and tried to focus all her strength and energy towards her hands pointed.

As soon as she did it, the next few seconds left almost everyone in the area speechless.

**THWAP! **

Multiple tendrils of black energy-like whips sprouted from her arm which entangled, pierced, and held the large monitor in place. The strength that was exerted on the appliance almost crushed it slightly as Izumi focused more energy towards the energy whip-like constructs she sprouted from her hands. As she did so, the red energy she emitted flowed through each of the blackened tendrils and moved much like how power lines were conducted through electric posts. They flowed into the appliance and energized it so much that it briefly turned on before it's screen exploded with the overload of electricity. Then as fast as they came out, Izumi withdrew the whips from her arms and everything went back to normal.

That is until everyone could see the girl laugh in amazement and success as she shouted in glee at how happy she was that it worked.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" she shouted as she aimed her hands towards a toaster nearby and as fast as she did so with the appliance earlier, the whips dragged it back towards her with such a speed that she kept on laughing in amazement. She then dropped the object and saw smaller versions of the whips waving in the air in her arms as they crackled with red energy.

"Mom! Aunt Nemu! All Might! Did you see that?" the girl asked as Inko smiled at her.

"That was amazing Izumi… j-just make sure that you don't over-exert yourself alright?"

"Sure… and I think this'll make carrying the loads much easier. If I can focus enough energy through my quirk, I can carry more weight with it." Izumi said as Kaguya came closer to her.

"This also reminds me of an old show back in the pre-Quirk era…" Izumi said as she was about to aim her hand towards another device nearby and shouted:

"HERMIT PURP-OW! Hey! Why'd you do that?" Izumi said as she saw Kaguya who slapped her head with crossed arms and a slightly annoyed face. She looked down at her while Inko giggled at what happened with Izumi.

"The purpose of this training is to make you stronger, not so that your quirk can make this easier. Now come on! You have work to do." The bunny-eared woman firmly said as Izumi bowed in respect and followed suit. She then smiled back at Inko with a wave as they went back to the training, the distance covering enough so that the conversation with the other adults was not heard.

Inko and Toshinori thanked Kaguya's quick thinking to lure Izumi away from them so that they would discuss in silence. As Inko turned towards them, Toshinori reverted back to his true form and saw that each of them were both amazed and disturbed at what just occurred.

To Inko however, having seen the black whips firsthand yesterday, it wasn't at all a shock to her unlike the others. Which is why she felt more comfortable after seeing it.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you all that she did that yesterday when we met after the café." Inko said to them as Nemuri and Toshinori looked at her. The way how she said it in a matter of fact expression didn't go unnoticed for Gran Torino.

"What were those whips that came out of her? Never seen such a quirk before." Toshinori asked.

Nemuri crossed her arms too as she went deep in thought.

"Coupled with her red energy and with the rest of what she can do, the applications and uses for her quirk are now technically limitless…" Nemuri said in a foreboding and worried tone.

"The weird part about this was when she used it yesterday, there was no intense nor powerful drawback. Those whips came out and only minimally secreted blood from where they sprouted from her arm. She didn't even feel any pain while doing so…" Inko added making the mystery all the more apparent to them, except for Gran Torino.

He cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to him.

"You said that the girl's quirk has intense drawbacks right?"

"Yes…" Inko said.

"Then I don't think it was part of her own quirk. Because if my gut instinct here is correct then we have something here that I haven't ever seen before in my life." The old man surmised as he turned his attention towards Toshinori.

"Can you confirm this girl isn't related to **him**, Toshinori?" he asked in seriousness. All Might nodded with the same aptitude and expression.

"No. She isn't." He replied.

"Then those black whips of hers are not of her own quirk. If I can remember correctly what Nana Shimura said about her knowledge on the past wielders of 'One for All', then those whips were the quirk of a past user. You said the girl had somehow consumed 'One for All' and haven't been showing signs yet, then we have confirmation now…" he pointed at Izumi who was once again carrying another heavy object in her arms.

Nemuri, Inko, and Toshinori as well as the doctor took in what he just said. Inko most of all felt a bit worried for what it meant for Izumi.

"You see, typically when this quirk of Toshinori's gets passed on to another person it only activates in the form of a very powerful emitter type quirk that enhances the strength, speed, and power a person wields alongside their own quirk much like Nana's… For this girl I don't quite understand why the only thing that manifested was a quirk from a past user of 'One for All' and not the entire package."

Toshinori looked at his former master and wondered the same as well.

"That's the sole reason why someone needs to be trained to master 'One for All' in the first place because the physical drawback of how much power 'One for All' wields is too much for a frail body to handle. But for her, since this is only the quirk of a past user then I think little to no drawback at all is present."

They all made sense with that as Inko thought about it. Gran Torino then walked up to Inko and looked her in the face.

"I'm afraid you and Toshinori have some explaining to do in regards to this girl ma'am."

Inko and Toshinori looked at each other as they saw Izumi happily carrying another pile of trash with determination and effort in her expression.

"Tell. Me. Everything." Gran Torino said to all of them with seriousness in his tone.

* * *

**DAYS LATER…**

07:10 Hours, Aldera Junior High…

Izumi arrived at school with heavy and tired eyes. Bags were under them as she yawned a bit while walking towards her classroom and not even bothering to say hi to Himiko whose desk was next to her. She quickly slumped on her desk and tried to regain some sleep after another long night yesterday of training. Training that now included trying to master her quirk with Gran Torino and All Might, alongside Kaguya with Inko's with basic instruction of hand to hand combat, as well as Nemuri's tutoring of her academic duties. While it was undoubtedly hard on her trying to agree to the deal, she nonetheless took it as a challenge since this was UA she was applying for, and it was no joke at all when it came to their entrance exams. But with her determination and acceptance of this challenge came fatigue and tardiness as well. She didn't complain however, she was willing to prove herself anyway and doing so with this schedule she kept with, she would do just that.

While this happened however, she did notice people were starting to take notice of her. Her higher grades, her curiously expanding physique, her headband that she wore almost every time, as well as the new whip-like quirk that she used sparingly when she deemed necessary. That and that she and Katsuki had a sort of competition on who would pass the UA entrance exam.

The very first day she arrived at school after the Aldera Memorial Day events, she was quite different with her new look and headband as well as the quirk that surprised even the blonde-haired boy when he first encountered it. After then, bickering between them intensified. It surprised all the students in their class as well as the school that the girl was able to put up with it along with fighting back against the explosive blonde. While it never went physical, it did spark a heated debate that added to the rumor whether the two's relationship was something else entirely. Because even with the new look and different Izumi, she still tended to only talk to the other weird girl in class which was her best friend Himiko Toga. Some other people tried, but they were put off with how Toga acted in between conversations. That and since Katsuki was also a 'friend', it made people to stave away from Izumi.

She didn't mind that however, though she was still the cheerful and friendly girl that was now also the school's resident 'Demon Queen', a nickname that was given to her because of her 'closeness' to Katsuki Bakugou which was also secretly dubbed as the 'Exploding Demon' of Aldera Junior High.

It was also because of the headband she wore, which glowed bright red whenever she used her quirk. It also didn't help that her quirk looked like something that came from a horror movie. Those Black Whip like constructs that extended out of her hand was still a gnarly thing to see.

Today however, as she slumped on her seat the whole classroom, Toga included wondered what seemed to have been siphoning the life out of the redhead.

"Izu… hey Izu…"

Izumi groaned as she tried to whisk Himiko away. Himiko away tilted her head at her and then suddenly smiled. A large grin on her face as she continued to poke the tired redhead.

"Izu… I won't stop poking Izu…" Himiko teased.

Izumi groaned yet again in a non-verbal manner. She may have been saying something but she was far too tired to speak. Himiko kept poking, which was now coming to her ticklish spots.

"Izu… you know I won't stop until you say so." She teased again.

"L-Leafee mwe in pweace…" she groaned as she tried to move Himiko's hands away. Himiko giggled as she continued to poke her much to Izumi's dismay. As they continued in that manner, Katsuki who had just arrived walked towards Izumi with a scowl. He stood in front of her as Himiko kept poking.

For some odd reason however, Izumi seemed to sense his presence.

"Stop scowling at me Kacchan." Izumi said to him. While Katsuki still hated the nickname given to her by the girl, he somehow tolerated it now.

"Didn't I tell you not to fucking call me that Deku? Tsk, you're really a bitch."

Somehow.

Izumi groaned in annoyance as she rose from her slumped form finally and with her heavy eyes she stared back at him. Himiko poked her cheek, as she continued to giggle in her own right.

"You finally woke up!" Himiko said as she embraced Izumi while she and the blonde boy continued to scowl at each other. Menacingly.

"What do you want?" Izumi said with a yawn after rubbing her eyes. Katsuki crossed his arms and scowled at her further with how annoyed and slightly angry she looked. Izumi never stopped however, not even remotely intimidated at how much angry he tried to make himself look.

"Are we going to… uh look at each like this or are you going to talk?" Izumi said with a brow raised in question. Katsuki who lost the battle of trying to scare Izumi gave up and sighed in annoyance.

"Fine… do you have a moment?" he said in a low and reluctant voice.

"Come again?"

Katsuki scowled at her and tried again.

"I said… do you have a moment, Deku?" he told her again with a try at a fake smile in order to make her agreeable. It failed though as Izumi looked bored and unperturbed by his attempt.

"Uh-huh…"

"FUCK! Just come with me please?" he said in further annoyance as the girl widened her eyes on him. It had been the first time he had ever said please to her.

"Did you just try to be friendly towards me?" Izumi suddenly asked.

"Oh for fuck's sake, just come with me you bitch." Katsuki said as he grabbed Izumi's wrist and pulled her along with him. Himiko looked on in surprise as Izumi tried to squirm out of his grip.

"HEY! Where are you taking Izu!" Himiko said.

"Fuck off blonde, this is between me and her."

"Me? What the hell did I do to you, idiot?" Izumi shouted as they went out of the door. Much to surprise of everyone who had just witnessed it. Himiko then quickly tried to follow them out. Everyone who remained started to question what just happened.

Katsuki dragged the annoyed and angry Izumi down the hallways and into the school gardens at the outside. He finally let her go when he had enough of Izumi screaming at her all the way there. They stopped near the side of the exit into the garden as the blonde boy's back was turned against her.

"As much as I hate you trying to be mean with me Kacchan. It hurts when you're being forceful." Izumi said with a finger pointed at him as she tried to console her wrist.

"Damn it, what do you want this time? Another argument?" Izumi asked as Katsuki turned to her.

"Deku. What is your quirk exactly?" Katsuki said with intensity in his tone. Izumi stood firm and looked him in the eye after he loomed over her.

"Why are you asking? I thought you never cared about my quirk in the first place…" she replied with a bit of volume in her tone.

"You're so annoying you damn bitch. Why can't you just do what I asked of you?" he screamed as he put his arm out towards her and placed it forcefully on the wall next to her head. Izumi looked at him at how… suggestive this pose was between them. She blushed slightly but remained a firm state of mind against him. He surely wasn't doing this for that reason.

"WELL? AREN'T YOU GONNA TALK?"

Certainly not for that reason, Izumi figured. Not that she wanted it that way at all.

"First of all Mr. Braindead… I am not obliged nor in need to give in to your demands. Second, I think you're doing this because you're intimidated of me." Izumi said with confidence as the blonde boy screamed at her.

"I AM NOT SCARED OF YOU, YOU FUCKING DEKU!"

"Then why the hell are you screaming at me IDIOT? You're only making this worse for you. I was determined not to tell your mom anything about the things you do to me every day because at the very least I consider you a friend. Even if you keep this rude attitude towards me like you want to kill me."

Katsuki finally toned down a bit at what she just said.

"Tsk. What if I do? You're fucking annoying."

"Back to point _Kacchan_, why are you angry at me today? That's what I want to know."

"Because you won't tell me what your damn quirk is! Seriously. You crap out something new out of your skirt each time we meet each other. What in the hell are you anyway?" Katsuki said to her, unbeknownst to them Himiko was listening in on their conversation. She seemed on edge a bit after Katsuki asked about Izumi's 'quirk'.

"What does that mean to you then if I may ask?" Izumi said.

Katsuki then suddenly looked like he had blown a fuse at her question.

"Fucking- Fine then! Keep your damn stupid quirk to yourself. Just know that when you saved me back there with the slime villain, I needed none of your help understand me?! You can hog all the attention you want! I'm not weak unlike you and I can prove it to you that someday **I will be the number one hero**. You wanna know why? Because I'm stronger than you than anyone in this shitty school and when the UA entrance exam starts I'm going to pass with the highest score possible. I'll graduate and leave you all in the dust you hear me?"

Izumi didn't know how to react to that, because of the intensity of his speech their heads were uncomfortably close to each other and the reason he was mad after all this time was something she wanted to really laugh at.

Because it was stupid. But for the boy's somewhat shattered pride she decided not to laugh in his face. The way how he passionately said those things to her struck her like how much passion and determination she had with her dream. There was pain in his voice as well that she found in between words. Making fun of him or belittling his dream would be hypocritical of her. Instead, she would find a way to maybe remedy the situation.

"Look… Katsuki. I understand how you feel." Izumi said slowly.

"What?!"

Izumi rolled her eyes as she pushed him away. Thankfully he didn't seem to mind.

"I need you to understand one thing about me. I don't intend on beating you nor saying that you were weak back there with the Slime Villain. I just want to be a hero that everyone can rely on. I don't care about rankings, popularity, nor anything else. I just want to help people, and while I respect your choice on becoming a hero in your own sense and opinion, I won't stand in your way of trying to achieve it." as she said this with a solemn and truthful expression, Katsuki merely looked at her in silence.

"I'm actually happy that you're this passionate in wanting to be number one. I don't really have the confidence nor drive to be like you, and maybe that's something I like with your… uh, pretty idiotic self." She said with a bit of humor as Katsuki frowned to which Izumi smirked at.

"WHAT?"

"Look, the point is, I respect you Katsuki and no matter what happens between us in the future when we achieve our dreams, I'll still be here to support you on. Just promise me that you'll respect me too in exchange."

The blonde boy stared at her with a bewildered expression but he sighed and nodded. Offering his hand for a handshake towards her.

"Fine…" he said as Izumi took it and they shook hands.

"See? Wasn't a proper conversation better than trying to scream each other's throats out?" Izumi said with a grin as the boy scowled again.

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT YOU FUCKING DEKU."

"THEN STOP TRYING TO MAKE MY EARS BLEED KACCHAN!"

Himiko who was hearing the conversation couldn't help but feel a bit estranged at what was occurring, this tolerable while at the same time hateful relationship that they had for each other was truly bizarre, even for her. But at least they were… happy?

Or maybe slightly accepting that they finally came to terms on that.

"So… I reckon the reason you're always tired when coming to school is because of the Entrance Exam right?" Katsuki asked as Izumi nodded.

"Oh, you noticed that huh."

"Everyone knows idiot. Even you're fucking blonde bitch that's always following you around."

Izumi wanted to spit back in response but decided not to.

"Yeah, I am training for the exam. Got a problem with that?"

"No. Just making sure that you don't get your hopes up. Because I will certainly pass." He said with a grin this time at her. Izumi frowned at his demeaning look.

"Hey! I won't be a slouch too you know. I'll make sure I pass as well."

"Oh really now? Wanna make a bet then?" he challenged. For some odd reason Izumi wanted in on that challenge. Her pride somehow wanted to overshadow his, in a good way…

"Sure _Kacchan_. If one of us passes with a higher score we get to do what we want with the loser. How about that?" Izumi said with a grin that rivaled his.

"You're on." he said, accepting the challenge as they shook hands once again with firmer holds this time. As they separated, Katsuki began walking back to class as he waved back at Izumi.

"I'll certainly win this bet Deku, don't you dare forget that you were the one who made this stupid deal of yours okay?" he yelled as he giggled evilly to himself. Izumi rolled her eyes at him as he disappeared from view and followed him inside.

She felt fulfilled at least. Knowing that somehow she had helped with Katsuki's frustration. Though she reckoned that she may regret her decision there with the bed. Fortunately, she was doing her best especially since a lot of people were helping her with this endeavor of hers. A lot of people in her life had belief in her to succeed and she wasn't planning to disappoint them anytime soon.

As she came inside, much to her surprise Himiko jumped on her and put her in an embrace. This friend of hers on the other hand was someone Izumi cherished deeply and loved almost every second that she spent with the blonde girl.

"What was that Izu?" Himiko said as she separated from her and began walking back together to their classroom. Izumi smiled at her as she thought about what the blonde boy had said to her.

_"You can hog all the attention you want! I'm not weak unlike you and I can prove it to you that someday __**I will be the number one hero**__."_

Those words spoke to her as she now fully understood what the boy's problem was with her.

"Oh nothing, it's just Kacchan being Kacchan. Nothing to worry about Miko." Izumi said as Himiko looked at her. The girl nodded in understanding as they neared the classroom.

"Say Izu… I heard you're training for the UA Entrance Exam? Is that why you're tired lately?"

"Yeah… I know it's still months away but I gotta make sure I'm ready to pass it. A lot of people are counting on me to pass you know."

"Does that include me? Because I can cheer you on. I know you can do it, you can pass for sure!" the girl said which made Izumi laugh.

"I sure hope so…" then Izumi looked at her friend with a question.

"What about you? Where do you plan on entering after Junior High?"

They both stopped when Himiko looked at her because of that question.

"Never thought about it really, but I can try UA too, if you're going there then I better try my best too. We can be classmates again!" the blonde girl said with a cheerful tone, Izumi never stopped smiling with how cheerful and energetic Himiko was and even with the awkward introduction they shared when they first met, they never separated since then.

"Sure… are you going to train as well?"

"Of course, but I think the thing I'm worried most is my academics. I'm not really that good when it comes to that." Himiko said with a shy expression, Izumi smirked as she thought about a way for them to cooperate with each other and help with her problem on that part of the test.

She snapped her fingers and looked at her.

"What about I help you in that matter for the test? We can have fun while we're doing it too."

"Really?"

"Yeah… and I think Aunt Nemu won't have a problem adding one more person to the list." Izumi said with a smile as Himiko went silent. Izumi then frowned in question to the sudden change of tone but then the girl embraced her again into her arms. A firmer, touching hug that was different than what she used to do.

"Thank you Izu… you don't know how much this means to me." She said to Izumi.

Izumi was surprised at how happy she took it, but she smiled back and caressed her hair as she returned the favor with a loving hug of her own.

"You're welcome Miko…"

They giggled softly to each other again as Himiko returned to her happy, cheerful self. Izumi watched and felt a fulfilled feeling inside her chest. She always dreamed of being a hero that put smiles into everyone's faces alongside helping them with their problems.

The two people she helped may not be that much for now but to her she thought of it as a start.

A great start on her journey of achieving that dream.

* * *

**1 MONTH LATER…**

Izumi fell upon the sand yet again. It had been the sixth time she's done this and since it was still early on a Saturday morning, it meant that the whole day was relegated to training. This time, it was training with hand to hand combat… without quirks. While she was somewhat improving from the last few days and weeks, she was nowhere close to being ready and Kaguya who was her instructor alongside her mother Inko were keen on making sure she was ready.

"Sloppy." Kaguya commented as she looked at her fingernails. Izumi was on the sand exhausted and out of breath as she looked up at the suited bunny-eared woman.

"Easy… for you to… ugh, say…" she said in between heavy breaths.

"Why is it easy for me then?" Kaguya asked.

"Well… you're a pretty good fighter. Can't compare to you with all the experience and training you have." Izumi said as she sat up and dusted some of the sand off her sweaty clothes.

"Plus, your quirk is a good way for hand to hand combat to shine."

"I am not using my quirk Izumi Midoriya… I am only trying to defeat you by simply using the basic knowledge I know about self-defense and reactionary combat. My quirk has nothing to do with this, you may say that I am using the enhanced strength I naturally possess or the speed necessary to hit you, but doing so would allow me to break your bones in the process. So… I am not using anything, I am merely downgrading myself to teach you and from what I'm seeing you are not doing great against a weakened opponent."

_Weakened… I'm the one weakened here, though she does have a point. If this is her holding back then I can't imagine how hard she hits when she's being serious._

"Izumi, heed my words in saying this. I know your quirk is strong and probably a bit tempting thing to use in every single situation you think of it. But be warned that there are times where an enemy can either have an advantage against you or their quirk is a major counter against yours. It's not all the time where we can use our abilities, so it's better to know how to fight than be left with no other option." Kaguya said a she cracked her knuckles in a very 'professional' manner. Inko actually agreed on that.

"Alright… I am trying my best here for all of you so I don't think giving up is a solution." Izumi said as Inko stood up from where she was sitting (which was a broken down car) and went to Izumi's side.

"Kaguya's right you know Izumi… enemies left and right will always have the advantage against you. You never know what will happen next so being careful, resourceful, and ready for any outcome is a must. Back in my day I always have a back-up plan to ensure that I get out of almost any situation. It's saved my life for more times than I can count." Inko said as she smiled at her daughter.

"Wait… what do you mean 'saved' your life? I thought your job was a legal consultant mom?" Izumi asked in interest, provoking Inko to blush in embarrassment as she let that slide out of her tongue. Kaguya was quick to respond to that though.

"That's not the point Izumi, what your mother said is true and it adds to the whole reason why we started this part of your training for the UA entrance exam. While you won't be fighting any villains yet, this is a good starting to point so that you can be better prepared for any situation." Kaguya said in an interlude. A sigh of relief and a look of thanks was given from Inko to the bunny-eared woman as Izumi began to change her thoughts about her prior question. The mystery remained however, a thing she wanted to talk to her mother about in time.

"Anyway… so to be precise we are going to drill you in so that you have at least the basics when it comes to this part of your training. You will be surprised how fulfilled you are after we finish and you will never see this part of your training as something useless again." Kaguya finished as Inko nodded at her daughter before leaving and returning to where she last sat at.

Izumi then readied herself as she put up her arms in a stance. Her opponent however, which was Kaguya merely stood in place.

"I'm waiting." Kaguya said and then the girl thrust out a punch towards Kaguya.

Before it could hit however, she used it as bait for her other leg to sweep the woman off her feet. Kaguya saw the telegraphed moves almost instantly and never flinched as soon as the bait was never taken, she instead grabbed Izumi's leg and threw her back to the sand.

"Ugh!" Izumi groaned as she felt sad enter her lips. She spat them back out as Kaguya watched.

"A good ruse… for a beginner but for someone who has knowledge about this, that was petty."

Izumi gritted her teeth as she threw some of the sand towards Kaguya's face. The woman again saw it coming and closed her eyes and then blocked a punch to the abdomen from the girl. She then opened her eyes and twisted her arm against Izumi's and threw her over her.

Only this time… Izumi put her knees on Kaguya's head and threw her over instead with as much strength as she could muster in that maneuver. She smiled in triumph as she was about to slam Kaguya on the sand, until the woman regained her footing mid-air and threw off the bewildered Izumi.

She once again landed on the sand, thankfully Inko was able to levitate her a bit before she could break any bones when she crashes on the ground. She then settled the girl to the sand with a small "thunk".

"This is impossible to do… how can I even beat you?" Izumi said as she sat up towards the bunny-eared woman. Kaguya smirked a bit at her complain but then rolled up her right sleeve that showed a few scars on her elbow.

"I was like you back in the day. Always complaining of how I could beat my master. You have it lucky though, with your mother there insuring you don't have major injuries. Me? My master used to be so hard to me that I nearly quit because I never got close nor even far enough to beat him. He was so good that with each move he made he could predict mine's faster than I could with you."

Kaguya then offered her hand.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy Izumi, but learning and persevering with the thing you dream most of in life becomes a far fulfilling thing to achieve once you grasp it. In time, I did defeat my master and I got it done because I believed that I can and did my best to reach for that dream."

Izumi began to nod with a small understanding smile as Kaguya pulled her up.

"And I believe in you. You already show great talent; we just need to push it further."

Izumi smiled brightly, the kind that was very iconic of her. Kaguya's ears jumped up into a stiff but pleased manner. Izumi then bowed in respect towards her.

"I will sensei." Izumi teased. Then Kaguya looked at Inko.

"Why don't we take a different method this time? Madame Inko… can you take over with the combat training?" Kaguya said as Inko stood up and walked to take the woman's place.

"Wait… why is mom taking over?"

"You were complaining that she was far too impossible to beat so I'm going to take a chance at you Izumi." Inko said as she looked at her daughter, who was perplexed and confused as seeing that she still had a sling on her other arm. However, it was healed to the point that she could move it now but the doctor advised that she needed to put it on to make a full recovery.

"But mom… you're injured still. Won't this be a problem?"

"Not exactly Izumi… your mom may be like this but I still got a few tricks under my sleeve." Inko cheerfully said as Izumi felt uneasy with this matchup.

"Won't you get hurt?"

"Nonsense dear… I'll be perfectly fine."

"Okay…" Izumi said as she readied her stance again with Inko like Kaguya, remained where she stood. Izumi tried a high kick to hit Inko's face and subsequently land a punch to her body after.

But to everyone's surprise, even with the injured state her mother was in… she quickly dispatched her without even making a sweat. She quickly dodged the kick and as Izumi was about to land her next hit, she grabbed her wrist with her thrusting arm and kneed Izumi's stomach.

It wasn't particularly a strong nor hard hit, but Izumi was just far too surprised with the speed and skill that Inko demonstrated. It was almost on par with Kaguya's.

She landed on the sand again on her knees as Inko smiled and tended to her.

"Now… that was an injured opponent Izumi, what do you think of me now?" Inko said with a smile. Izumi giggled in amazement at how much her mother was really special. They both laughed as Inko pulled the girl up.

"Wow mom… I-I never thought that you'd be that good."

"W-Well… I do train and work out on my free time. So I managed to gain a few skills to boot." Inko said as she scratched the back of her neck in mock embarrassment. Izumi then grew curious about her mother. First, it was the skill she showed with her quirk and now her mastery with hand to hand combat.

She started to question what really was her mother's job and why was she this good.

"Izumi? You spaced out there."

"Oh sorry mom… I'm just really surprised by how good you are at this stuff."

"I see… well I do owe you an explanation somewhat, maybe if you beat me I can tell you at lunch." Inko said as Izumi smirked.

"Okay then mom…" she said as she readied herself yet again. The questions in her mind about Inko remained however and even with how much she wanted to know about it, it overshadowed her new genuine interest and liking to the relationship she had with her mother.

For now, at least…

Meanwhile as Izumi continued to spar with her instructors in this part of her training she once again failed every attempt she made against the both of them. Not that she didn't have a chance but the girl still had more to learn and she as eager to see it all through.

Just like how Kaguya said she would…

"Was that true? That your master was that good?" Inko said as they watched Izumi hit a training dummy. Kaguya looked at Inko and nodded.

"Yes… it was true ma'am. But I left a small lie into that story of mine."

"What's that?"

Kaguya looked away with a shy and embarrassed expression. Her bunny ears drooping weakly.

"I-I never got to beat my sensei."

"Oh… I see."

"Don't tell anyone, especially the girl…"

"I won't." Inko said as they both watched their protégé in action.

* * *

**6 MONTHS LATER…**

"Wait, you deliberately knew where I was last night?" Toshinori said as he kept up with the girl who was carrying a tire while doing a run by the beach. After months of continued training and improvement on the girl's part, the beach was slowly getting cleaned as days passed. Both him and his former teacher would even say that the beach was already half or more when it came to how cleared up and cleaned it was. He was genuinely impressed since at the start of the training he only thought that girl would only reach half of this beach's trash to dispose by the end of the ten months.

"Yeah, for some reason when I tried to use my vision mode again… I kinda had the sense of where you were, as you were the person I was subconsciously thinking of last night."

_How was she even able to sense me that far away? That bar was almost halfway off the city from their apartment…_

"Is that another part of your quirk?" Toshinori asked as the girl looked at him while they were running together side by side.

"I think it's a passive part of my vision mode. I think my quirk allows me to kind of 'store' the color I've detected of people I've seen in it and translate it into a vague sense of where and what the person's quirk is." Izumi said in theory as Toshinori tried to remember if it was in the file that Inko explained to them at the very first night they knew the truth about Izumi's quirk. He didn't specifically remember exact details but the key word within the file was that the girl's quirk hunted and consumed quirks. Which could be the reason why she could 'sense' those she laid eyes upon when she uses it.

The implications and possibilities of that part of her quirk simply expanded yet again. A thought that both scared and impressed him immensely.

"Anyway with that said All Might… I wanted to ask, why were you with mom last night?"

Toshinori looked at the girl with an embarrassed expression. He didn't know what to say to her. Since last night was another one of those 'nights' where Inko wanted some time alone with him to drink and talk each other's hearts out. While she didn't come home drunk like the first time they've done it, it still ended rather awkwardly for both of them since Toshinori had to walk her home again as she was tipsy. Still, he quite enjoyed their sessions.

"Nothing important… we're just old friends that only reconnected when we saw each other again." He said to the girl, part of Izumi didn't want to believe it with how his expression said but her mother did say they were old friends, so it wasn't totally unbelievable. But of what sort of 'friends' they were was starting to become something she wanted to know.

"Uh-huh… are you sure you and my mom aren't a thing?"

"A thing?"

"You know…"

The skinny man suddenly blushed and looked at Izumi in an odd expression of embarrassment and confusion at the same time.

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Well… not that mom talks a lot about you, but you two do seem close." Izumi replied as they arrived at the end of the clearing where the truck they rented which was supposed to haul the trash she spent collecting. She placed the tire on the back of the truck and looked back at her mentor.

"Wait…she talks about me?" Toshinori asked, almost in a gleeful manner. It wasn't much, but it was there. She smirked as she got him right where she wanted him to be.

"No… but it was a good indicator of what you think of her…" Izumi teased as the man smiled and shook his head at that response.

"We're just friends Young Midoriya, nothing less. It's just really great to see each other again, and knowing that she was your mother made it all the better for me."

Izumi didn't argue that as they walked back together. He enjoyed days like these, where she could train and talk with All Might about stuff that randomly came to their mind. While also doing work for her preparations for the entrance exam.

As they walked back, Izumi turned to him and asked a question.

"All Might…"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering about something… since you are mom's friend I have to ask; does she ever talk about my dad?" Izumi asked. Toshinori nearly spit out the water bottle he was drinking at her question.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well… mom never talks about him. She only told me that he left and never came back. Every time I do open it up as a conversation, she just dodges it or keeps herself quiet." Izumi said with a bit of sadness in her tone.

Toshinori looked at the girl with how she asked that question, he then realized that between him and Inko, she never talked about how she lied about Izumi's father. He only assumed that she found a way to tell her in some sense why he was absent… and that they never really knew who her real parents were. He didn't want to tell the girl yet of her situation, as they all agreed not to until the right time.

"I don't think she's said anything about him to me. Based on what she told me that is." He said, trying his best not to look like he made it up or was lying to her. Izumi furrowed her brow and sighed. It hurt lying to her in this way, but telling everything now to her was not going to give any good motivation for the girl to enter the school they intend her to be safe in.

"Bummer… would have been nice to at least know something about him. Even if he did leave us, I would have still liked to see him in some way." She said to herself in a low tone.

"Even if he did leave you, I wouldn't be sure he'd forget about you." Toshinori said, trying to lift the mood with his words. Izumi however, took it differently. She stopped walking as he saw her put her face down in sadness. Her eyes becoming wet with tears somehow.

"Young Izumi… what's wrong?" he asked as he knelt to see her face.

"W-What if… what if he left me because he thought I was quirkless?"

_Idiot… Inko would kill me if she saw this._

"No… don't ever think of it that way. He left on his own accord. It wasn't because of you and never think that it was because of you. Do you understand me?"

She sniffed as she wiped her tear.

"Look, I'm not really good with this kind of stuff. Just know that even though you're sad when you think about these things, always remember that your mother and aunt is there for you. Also… never forget- "he then buffs up into his powered form "-THAT I AM HERE! SO DRY YOUR TEARS YOUNG MIDORIYA AND GIVE ME THAT SMILE."

The girl then slowly regained her smile and to Toshinori's surprise she embraced him with as much love as she could muster. He grinned to himself and returned the favor.

"Thank you… for being there for me All Might."

"Likewise… Young Midoriya."

They both smiled at each other as they continued their walk back to where they were supposed to continue Izumi's training. As they arrived, they saw Gran Torino waiting for them with a frown. He then ushered Izumi into another round of trying to train her in mastering her quirk via the 'black whips'. To which her progress was very much something to uphold at. The girl was a natural with that aspect of 'One for All' and they were all eager to see when this quirk that once belonged to Toshinori, would manifest further in her system. Toshinori then continued to watch as Izumi expertly used her quirk to precisely try and grab Gran Torino in mid-air. While she hadn't completely overcome the obstacle, she was getting close and he was proud to see his protégé doing so.

From simple training dummies, to small objects being targets, and now Gran Torino himself… Izumi proved to be better and better as the days go by with each training she took. He then looked at the piles of trash and saw that they were close to being hills now and even though a lot of work was still needed to be done, he could see her finishing it.

She was almost there and he couldn't be more prouder.

"Hey… saw you two back there. What did she ask you?" Inko said as she walked next to his side. He smiled at her as a form of welcome as he deflated back to his true form.

"Well… she asked me about her dad. I didn't know what to say so I just did my best."

Inko raised an eyebrow at what his 'best' meant but she was thankful for him on defusing that situation as quick and meaningful as he could.

"Thanks..." she said to as she looked away towards Izumi.

"You're welcome." He said.

As they continued watching, they both had a sudden realization about the girl.

"How are we going to tell her the truth someday?" he said.

Inko frowned and felt a feeling of sadness entering her chest as she saw Izumi.

"I-I don't know…"

He then put a hand on her shoulder to ease her.

"Whatever happens still Inko… you won't be alone when that day comes." He said to her as he withdrew his hand from her and she smiled back at him.

* * *

**2 MONTHS LATER…**

Izumi yawned as she closed the door of their apartment, she had just walked Himiko home to the nearest bus stop, after that she headed home after another successful day at the academics' part of her training. Nemuri, whom was still sitting on the kitchen table along with the study materials they used for today, was reading on some of the work Izumi had done to the English and Literature portion of the subjects they just reviewed on. She was impressed to say the least, Izumi seemed to have no difficulty when it came to academics. The girl was a genuine genius when it came to things like these, which made her wonder why on her own schools she was only brought upon the top ten or in the middle of the class in worst cases. But to be fair to herself, the girl had issues before this and now that she was motivated she couldn't help but be impressed and proud.

This also meant that she was proficient on not only one but all subjects that they went through. Even math which wasn't the best thing that Nemuri was good at, but she seemed to hurdle these pretty easily for herself. Of course there were hiccups here and there, but overall the girl had a good grasp of the subject. So much so that some could even say she was a prodigy. But, it was her judgement and word; since she was only a trained art teacher, she couldn't say for sure if that was the case.

Although, the girl had talent for academics and maybe the UA staff can enhance it further once she gets enrolled. She smiled with a sigh of relief as she took off her glasses and placed it next to the book she just closed. Izumi stretched her arms out as she sat back on the kitchen table with her aunt. It was almost ten in the evening and they were still the only occupants in the house. Inko had not arrived from the drinking sessions she shared with Toshinori. Izumi was aware about it now as well as Nemuri but they weren't bothered about it a bit. Since to Izumi, she didn't mind her mom having fun and to Nemuri she just found it pleasing for Inko to enjoy some time for herself.

As they sat together on the kitchen table, Izumi looked at her aunt.

"I can't believe it's been nine months already since we first started. Never thought I'd reach this far. I still feel like it's a dream… I just can't picture myself being where I am now. Yet, it is real and things are finally coming along for me…"

Nemuri smiled for her, it had been something else these past few months. The girl was always happy and energetic now. Gone were the days where she would be so quiet and stay in her room for most of the time in home. Yet even with how happy Nemuri she was for her, she knew it deep in her heart that while things did finally went her way it was all because of the storm that was soon to hit everyone else in time. The biggest hit of all was on the girl herself and Nemuri felt a feeling of fear should that day come soon. Although, she had to smile for Izumi in this time. She worked hard for a lot of things in life and to see her now so fulfilled and happy made her feel great being there at her side all these years.

More so than even Inko if they were to gauge it. Not to say in offense that is.

"Aunt Nemu… do you remember what you said to me back then? When I asked you if I could be a hero?" Izumi said with a saddened smile as she tried to remember a memory that to Nemuri was one she wanted to forget about.

_"D-Do you think I could a hero someday?"_

Nemuri never gave her an answer… she never knew it was possible. Until now that is, but things changed and she knew the reason why.

"Izumi… I know back then-"

"Don't worry about it Aunt Nemu… I put it behind me. Not that I want to ask you again about it, but I did it… after all this time, I did it."

"S-Sure…" Nemuri replied, unsure if it was for her or for herself.

"I mean, it's weird having all this luck when back then it was always sadness for me. All Might is teaching me to be his successor, Mom and I are making up, and I finally have friends. I don't know who to thank for that actually… it's either to fate or because I was given this quirk." Izumi said in reflection as she put her arm up and small swirls of the 'Black Whips' emerged from it. Nemuri was used to the image of Izumi having that part of 'One for All', but she still found it creepy seeing such things in her hand. Then again, her real quirk in itself was something beyond creepiness.

"But I think I know who to thank for being there for me, all this time." Izumi said as she looked at her aunt. Nemuri felt a warm sensation in her chest as she nodded at Izumi to which she nodded back.

"I do hope I can pass the exam though…" Izumi teased as she started to unclasp the headband she wore. As she did so, the moment she put the device on the table her nose bled out. Nemuri quickly stood up and helped the girl towards the sink as she took a tissue to wipe the excess blood off.

It had been routine thing for them now. As much as Nemuri was already accustomed to it, as well as the other people involved with the girl; she never really took it as something to accept and be comfortable with.

As they reached the sink, Nemuri pulled the girl's hair back as Izumi started to slowly puke out the blood that was 'used' when her quirk was active. It hadn't been as violent as the cases before because of the headband, which had mitigated it to a staggering 70%. Still, whenever this occurred Izumi was in pain and she had difficulty sometimes in ejecting the bodily fluids from her system.

Today was no different.

**HWUAALLGHHHH…**

Droplets to small streams of blood came out from her lips as she tried to regurgitate the fluids out. It took a few minutes until Izumi stopped feeling pain again and her mental thought process was once again brought back to normal like usual.

Nemuri still did not like this part of her quirk. She recalls the first time this ever occurred that she saw first-hand. It wasn't pleasant, even now it still was not.

To Izumi, it was a necessary sacrifice and she did learn how to use her quirk only when necessary. So events like these was something closer to normal for her. Though the amount of pain and dizziness she felt when she took off the headband at any given time was significant and always put a toll on her.

However, it was momentary and as soon as it was gone it was back to normal.

"You okay now?" Nemuri said as the girl nodded. Prompting the woman to take some pills from the cupboards and a glass of water for her to drink. The pills served as a cleansing agent for her body, as well as something that will get rid of the dizziness.

After taking them, Izumi smiled at Nemuri. To which the woman smiled back, albeit reluctantly.

"Thanks Aunt Nemu… for everything."

"You're welcome darling." Nemuri said as the girl took her things and bid her farewell into her room to sleep for the night. Nemuri waved at her as Izumi closed her door. Leaving her to her own thoughts on the situation as she took a glass herself and drank it.

Lucky as Izumi may be in these past months…

It would all change once someone out there made their move. So far no one has or no one had planned yet to move against the girl but it was really starting to get everyone nervous. It had been quiet.

Far too quiet for nothing to happen, as the warnings that 'Juno' woman said was something that they took in seriously. All of them involved knew the risk and it was only a matter of time before something happened to the girl.

Nemuri only hoped that when the day came that something would happen, they would be ready and assured for Izumi's protection. Which is the whole reason why this training of hers was orchestrated, so that she would be ready too when the time comes.

And UA was still a month away…

She hoped that it would be smooth sailing until then.

Suddenly, she heard a door open and as her eyes gazed on the front door she saw Inko who was surprisingly not tipsy nor drunk. She did look quite pleased though and as she settled her purse on the table, she sat and put her attention to Nemuri who sat alongside her.

"Is she in bed?" Inko asked.

"Yeah… she is. We just got finished with her friend actually."

"Alright, well things look to be normal as usual." Inko said as she took out her phone. Her arm had been fixed by now and she was free without the sling. Her scars and other wounds had healed too, leaving her almost the same as when she first set out for Italy months back. The only difference now was her different attitude and demeanor. One that Nemuri thought of as an improvement.

"You seem troubled. Did something happen to her?" Inko asked.

"No… nothing's wrong. I'm just worried you know, for her."

Inko stared into the wall and thought about it.

"Me too… she's excelled in every area of the training and guidance we're giving her but there's still a level of fear from me when I think about her crossing paths with whoever's out there to get her."

"You and me both."

"I just hope our plan comes through Nemuri… Even if it meant that Aizawa and I would face again, I'd do it for Izumi." Inko said to her, of which she put a hand on top of hers and gave an encouraging smile to alleviate the mood.

"Don't worry… it'll work out."

They both smiled as they both trusted the girl's fate for whatever was to happen once the entrance exam starts. Time will tell if their hope was warranted.

"Oh, by the way Inko… couldn't help but notice you weren't drunk tonight."

Inko smirked as she thought about their 'session'.

"I had a drink or two still, but we just talked. Specifically, of what to do when Izumi gets enrolled."

Nemuri raised a suspicious brow. She then pried further with a tease.

"How big is he?"

Inko widened her eyes in shock and bewilderment when she looked at her friend who was giggling and smiling deviously at her.

"Why the fuck would you ask that?"

Nemuri didn't reply as she continued to tease and laugh with her best friend throughout the rest of the night. It felt like old times again between them and they enjoyed each moment that mattered before it lasted.

For Izumi however, she was listening in from her door when she heard the two adult women laughing to themselves. She smirked at that as she went to bed.

But she also asked what her mother said about her 'crossing paths' with someone. She wanted to investigate further but since she was tired, she left a mental note to see to it tomorrow. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her. With her window opened, she slept soundly.

While she slept, a pair of red eyes and blonde hair was watching her from afar. With a grin that was far too pleased of what she was seeing. She continued to watch until the peak of dawn.

* * *

**8 HOURS BEFORE THE EXAM…**

Toshinori had been driving the truck they rented for probably the last time today. They finished young Izumi's training yesterday after she completely impressed and finished her job on all areas of her training. From the basics of hand to hand combat to basic mastery with her quirk, alongside her academics which from Midnight herself said that she passed on all marks. The beach too was cleared exceptionally, some trash still remained but he was proud to see it in its state as it is now.

The reason being that he was hauling the truck again today was because the girl asked for him to finish what she can for today before heading out to the exam. Which was due in a few hours. He agreed to her request but also thinking that the girl was taking this trash thing too seriously now. They could finish it after the exam or a few days after as well, yet the girl was so adamant to return early today that he couldn't help but say yes to her enthusiasm.

Kaguya, her assistant had also headed out early to supervise the girl and he knew that like always Inko would be there to watch the girl too. Gran Torino wasn't here though, but he agreed to see the girl after the exam when the meeting with the UA staff was finished. Nemuri on the other hand, had to leave early to UA in preparation for everything that was going to happen today. Both in the exam and what came after when they start explaining to the UA Pros about Izumi's situation.

Inko was still reluctant with coming along but he convinced her otherwise. This was for her daughter after all.

_I really hope things go smoothly today…_

He shrugged those thoughts as this was officially the girl's last session of training for the exam. They needed to somehow celebrate and prepare Izumi for the promised 'inheritance' he said yesterday. Though the girl already had 'One for All' on her system that she didn't even know about, he still needed to make it official and 'give' his blessing per say for the passing of his quirk.

It was not only to assure his trust on the girl but also to make her think that today was the day that he passed his quirk on to her. A small white lie to make sure she stays away from the truth… for now.

He smiled to himself as he thought about what to do when he saw her. The girl after all the time they spent together had latched a good portion of his heart. To him, he almost saw her as something near the likes of his late mentor and mother figure Nana Shimura. He looked up into the still starry sky and wondered what the woman would have thought about Izumi.

To be honest, the other reason he took the girl into his care was because she reminded him so much of Nana, down to her kindness and her drive of being a hero. He even reckoned (though in a joking sense) that the woman would have preferred training the girl than her.

He giggles to that thought. On a serious note however, he did think that the woman would have accepted her regardless of Izumi's troubled and… bloody past. Much like how he did with her when he knew what was at stake.

A lot has happened between the events of fourteen years ago and now. He changed so much through the years, along with Inko whom changed drastically in some areas. There were dark days ahead and they both hoped that they could do their best for the girl when that time came.

"Toshinori… hey! You're just right on time."

Speak of the devil.

Toshinori smiled and waved at the woman as she came into view. She was standing by the small hillside of sand watching over the beach. She seemed to have a pleased look plastered on her face. Oddly enough, Kaguya wasn't in sight nor was the girl.

"Did I miss anything special?" he asked the woman, the woman merely smirked and pointed at the view below. Where just in time… Izumi was standing triumphantly on the shoreline with her arms raised. Kaguya was by her side as behind her, the last vestiges of trash left in the beach was collected. Ultimately cleaning up and reviving Dagobah beach back to its beauty and wonder as it once was.

"I DID IT!" she shouted in glee as much as her lungs can take her.

As he saw it all happen before him, he was in awe… in awe that the girl had accomplished it. The goal he had set, the schedule (which obviously changed but retained in some aspects), as well as how far she's been to make it here now at the end of her goal was a sight to see.

He couldn't be anymore prouder as Inko smiled beside her.

"She did it."

"She did. Heh, why don't we congratulate her properly this time?" Inko said as Toshinori flashed a wide grin and eventually he sized up into his powered form. To the All Might that Izumi grew to love a child. Inko herself was proud of her girl and she finally started what the feeling of being there for her at that moment. In her most triumphant of times, she was happy to see her girl smile.

Izumi on the other hand, with fatigue settling in… she slowly collapsed as Kaguya held her in place and mad her sit on a portable chair she brought along. The woman then patted her shoulder with a small smile and gave her another water bottle to drink out of.

"That was excellent young Midoriya! I never thought we could do it in time, but you far exceeded my expectations! Look at this beach, you never left a single speck of trash and best of all you restored this place to its former glory! I couldn't be prouder." All Might said with as much flair and boldness in his tone that he came to be known for. Izumi smiled a bit weakly at him as the man laughed in glee.

_There he goes again… I seriously don't understand why people like that aspect of him. But if Izumi's happy then I should be happy too. _Inko thought as Toshinori happily took Izumi into his arms, much to the girl's pleasure.

"All Might… am I ready now?" Izumi said with a small weak laugh.

"You always have been Young Midoriya… I never doubted anymore when I chose you that day."

"T-Thanks… heh, I think."

He then placed the girl back on the ground as he took out his phone. He then showed her the picture of when they first started their training together all those months ago. As soon as Izumi saw the picture she immediately felt embarrassed at what she was seeing. It was the one where she was wet on the ground and was tired after All Might forced her to move a large refrigerator with him on top.

Inko moved closer to see the picture to which Izumi blushed heavily at. she quickly tried to grab the phone but Inko levitated the phone out of her reach.

"Mom! You don't need to see that! Please give it to me." Izumi cried out as everyone laughed, as seemingly her fatigue and tardiness vanished instantly in a whisk after seeing the picture.

"All Might why'd you have to show that to someone?!" Izumi cried out again as she gave up when Inko smirked at her as she looked at the picture. The young girl then started to weakly punch him in his waist continuously as Inko copied the picture into her phone. She did give it back and he began explaining why. Izumi pouted as she crossed her arms as she looked at her idol.

"Anyway… as I was going to say and show you. The picture was you when we first started. Look how much you've grown. Not only physically or mentally but also as a person." All Might said as Izumi perked up. It had been a long road.

From the very problematic days of being quirkless, to suddenly being here now. Izumi felt relieved and fulfilled that she reached this far, now… there was one final thing before she finally ends up in her path to being a hero.

"You've fought long and hard to get to this day. As your final step towards your path is a few hours away from now. That is why Izumi Midoriya, I congratulate you for finishing your training and reaching as far as you could from where you stand… I could not have chosen a better successor for 'One for All'."

Izumi grinned as a tears started to build up in her eyes.

"T-Thank you All Might…" she said as she did one last bow of respect towards the man, and suddenly she also bowed towards her mother, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Izumi?"

"T-Thanks mom… for finally accepting." Izumi said in gratitude. Inko smiled back and nodded in return. Izumi smiled as All Might thought that this was the proper time to do this…

He plucked a piece of his hair and as everyone celebrated Izumi's success, the girl turned towards her as he gave out the brightest smile he could give. While also offering the piece of hair to her.

"Young lady… I give you 'One for All'." He said as everything around Izumi stopped to a halt, she never thought in a million years that she would reach this day, and now she was going to have his quirk. All Might's quirk. She was so happy, but she was confused when All Might moved the piece of hair closer towards her.

"Uh… All Might?"

"EAT THIS."

Inko and Izumi's jaw dropped in surprise and confusion. Especially Izumi who never understood what exactly was happening. Kaguya looked at her boss in an incredulous way. As seemingly an inspiring moment was reduced to something odd and bizarre… and not in a good way at that.

* * *

10:55 Hours, UA Entrance…

Izumi stopped in her tracks as she held both straps of her green bag on her shoulders. Wearing her best attire which was her school uniform. Complete with her glasses, headband, slight green highlights in her hair, as well as her confidence… she was ready. At least that was what she was telling herself to be. It was surreal seeing all the students from all walks of life walking up towards the gate of UA, the school where she hoped she could study for the hero course. With each step, she felt like the weight of the entire world was put on her chest. She was confident with herself, all those ten months of preparation will not be put to waste. Yet she was still nervous with anxiety seeing the school far ahead.

No… she wouldn't be scared today. So much people were counting on her and she would fortify that trust with all the strength she had. She was determined to pass today, so she would do her best on all stages of the exam. Best of all, she finally had 'One for All' in her system. She hadn't felt the effects yet nor the quirk manifesting but she was ready.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward with the school ahead.

Then as she continued walking, she noticed and heard a familiar voice behind her.

"IZU! I made it! I'm almost overslept but I made it!" it said, she turned and saw her best friend as she waved at her while she kept on walking. The blonde girl was also taking the exam today and like her they were both ready for what was to come.

"Whew… I had to run to catch up." Himiko said as she finally caught up to her.

"You nervous?"

"Not really… being nervous at things like these ruin the mood you know? So it's better to go in guns blazing than wimp out." Himiko cheerfully said.

"Y-Yeah… you're right." Izumi said as she thought about what her friend said.

"So… have you seen Mr. Explodey around?" Himiko asked and at the same moment they said that, Bakugou walked past them while slapping the top of Izumi's head with a large grin.

"Don't forget about our deal DEKU!" he said as he walked away.

"Ooh… he's pumped." Himiko commented as Izumi rolled her eyes at the boy. Today was the day of their deal and she had to be extra thorough to beat him. This in turn gave Izumi more of a push to pass the exam. Her competitive side against him had shown again.

The two girls then began to chat with each other as they walked until they saw two girls in front of her. One which had blue hair and a machine-like hologram projector sticking out of her arm and a brown-haired girl who had trouble interpreting what the girl was trying to say to her.

"I don't understand sign language… I'm sorry." The brown-haired girl said.

The blue haired girl in turn frowned as she tried to signal her hands into what she was trying to convey. Izumi conclude that the girl was mute and decided to ask what was going on.

"Hello, uh is everything all right?" Izumi said to the two.

"Oh thank goodness. This girl I think wants to ask directions because she couldn't read Japanese very well. But I don't understand sign language unfortunately." The brown-haired girl said.

"Oh that's wonderful! Izu knows a thing or two." Himiko said as she jumped into the conversation. The blue-haired girl smiled and the hologram projector that was shown in her arm retracted back like small nanomachines that worked along her skin. To say that Izumi was amazed was an understatement, but she had to help the girl first with her problem.

"I'm not an expert but I'll try. What seems to be the problem?" as soon as she said this the girl did a series of signals and gestures until Izumi vaguely found out the whole picture.

"Ah, I think she wants help to talk to a teacher or proctor inside. Is that it?" Izumi asked and the girl smile brightly clasping her hands together and nodding.

"Oh… so that's your problem." The brown-haired girl said.

"Since we're all here and taking the exam together why don't we help you inside? I'm sure a teacher will be there for you. Is that okay?" Izumi asked and the girl nodded.

"I'll help too, it's only fair since I never got to help you in the first place." The other girl said where Izumi also took note of. She then offered her hand.

"Name's Uraraka… nice to meet you all." She said to Izumi and the others.

"Likewise… name's Izumi and this is my friend Himiko." Himiko then smiled and waved at them.

The blue-haired girl then looked at the both of them and thought of a way to best say her name to them. She then had an epiphany and let out her arm. As soon as she did so, machine-like particles emerged from her skin and formed a small computer screen. Words began typing as the girl's eyes glowed blue for a bit and out of the screen came a name.

"Sylvia"

All of the girls were a bit surprised at her name, as it wasn't Japanese in origin. Nor was the looks of the girl and her blue hair. She then smiled as the screen changed and another set of words came.

"You can call me Io."

Izumi was about to say something when they heard a teacher that came out of the building and was starting to file in the students as the opening to the exam was about to start. Izumi and her new companions alongside Himiko rushed in…

As the UA Entrance Exam finally started, and a new chapter came to Izumi Midoriya's life.

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

**FIRST ARC CONCLUDED…**

* * *

**AN: Clarifications First...**

**-Inko and Toshinori are not dating, nor are they in love or otherwise. There is attraction but as far as the plot goes, they won't be romantically attached to each other until the plot deems it.**

**-Yes, the girl at the end is one of Juno's quirk users. As to why she's there you will have to find out.**

**-What's the deal with Himiko Toga? I have plans for what her real reasons in following Izumi, but it will be shown in time.**

**-Why doesnt Izumi bleed when she uses 'One for All'? The reason being is that the two quirks operate apart from each other. They don't mesh, so technically two powerful quirks reside in her system.**

**-As to why Izumi's appearance is close to Zero Two, I did not intend that. It was a coincidence I only noticed after writing Chapter 2. As for the headband, the horns are a tribute design in functionality towards Inko's mask. As the horns help Izumi in stabilizing the drawback of her quirk much like how Inko's focuses the power of her telekinesis. Which is why two horns are needed, as her quirk is stronger.**

**-Will Izumi use 'One for All' fully and not just Black Whip? Yes, she will in time. She will manifest those other quirks as well as the normal function of 'One for All' in the story.**

**If you have more questions, leave a review or PM me.**

**Lastly, I am thankful that we reached the conclusion to the first arc! I never thought I'd reach this far to be honest. :) I hope you stay and read as we get into the events of UA... I will be sticking to canon a bit, but it will have different events as we go along the way. One of those events is what's going to happen next chapter. Of which I am excited to write.**

**That's all from me... stay safe guys.**

**Sidestory #5 coming soon!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: UNVEILING OF THE GODDESS - Izumi begins her exam. Multiple eyes bare witness to the first sighting of the quirk user of Agony's Embrace. The UA staff are alarmed and shocked to see it as the meeting for Izumi's fate follows. Whatever they decide, completely changes the path that the girl will embark on.**


	14. SideStory 5: Easter Bunny

**AN: A bit of good vibes for this Sidestory... Enjoy and stay safe guys!**

* * *

SideStory #5

"Easter Bunny"

"Wait. Your hero name is Easter?" the redhead girl said towards the Bunny-eared woman while they were exchanging, dodging, and parrying blows with each other. Izumi, kept on moving with each strike and parry as her moves were getting faster and faster than before. The burst of speed was something that Kaguya did not expect from the girl as sudden bursts of strengths with each blow and strike were starting to hurt the woman bit by bit.

**THUD!**

Izumi jumped back as a knee to her abdomen was struck. She didn't back down though and merely smiled back at Kaguya. Although this level of improvement was something that she liked dearly, the woman had to even the odds by unleashing some of her own strength at the girl. While it was not completely as strong as she could be when unleashed fully, it was still enough to give bruises and Izumi was accumulating them a lot. Her on the other hand, she did feel her strikes but were not enough to completely damage or bruise her musculature.

Still, the girl impressed her immensely with the sudden flurry of attacks that she admitted to herself that some hits did connect.

"Yes. It is as you say Izumi. I was forced to use that name until I changed careers." Kaguya said as the short distance between them was met again when Izumi lunged at her. With quick reflexes, she dodged the bait and hit combo Izumi always used on her. She grabbed the baiting kick but before she could maneuver herself to counterattack the girl with her own, Izumi's unpredictability began to show. She landed a good hit on her leg that was holding all the weight of her stance and unbalanced her.

She then in quick succession tried to zip her arm to strike upon her head. Kaguya then balanced herself and tried to parry her incoming strike, only for Izumi to smirk and grab both of her arms on to her head and kneed her in revenge. The girl smiled in glory, only to discover that Kaguya was neither fazed nor affected by her attack and the woman flawlessly took her and threw her off. Izumi landed on the ground with a slightly heavy thud as Inko, who was not around yet did not cushion her fall.

"Ugh… thought I had you there." Izumi said with a giggle as Kaguya offered her hand to stand her up. As they got up, Kaguya dusted off her hands. She was pleased. Tomorrow was the Entrance Exam, and Izumi had already proven enough that she was ready.

"You should celebrate Izumi. Those were good consecutive attacks that would have overwhelmed opponents even in my level of training. You have progressed well, while you did not beat me I do think that you are ready." The woman said as Izumi smiled back after heaving a breath. Exhaustion finally catching up to her.

"Yeah… gotcha." Izumi said as the woman then gestured her to come with her.

"I think it's time for a break, once Madame Midoriya arrives we will try to reconvene with the same drill so that she sees it herself, deal?" Izumi nodded with a determined look as they both walked towards the small table and chairs Kaguya always sets up when Izumi trains.

As soon as Kaguya gave her a cup of water, the girl suddenly grew curious. Especially since the hero name of the woman before her was revealed to her.

"You said you were forced to use that name? Why is that exactly?"

Kaguya's bunny ears perked up into a stiff formation.

"I… never wanted to be a hero in the first place." Kaguya said with an expressionless and unreadable face. The girl almost dropped her water bottle in shock at her words.

"Wait… what do you mean-"

"It is not what you think Izumi. Though I don't think explaining it to you would do any good." Kaguya commented to her. The girl pouted at her response and to Kaguya's surprise, she lunged at her and began to try and tickle her.

"IZUMI! What are you doing?"

"Tell me about it or I won't stop… ehehehe" Izumi said as she began to lightly tickle the woman, and Izumi found it surprisingly hilarious that Kaguya, the woman who was almost always expressionless, emotionless, and devoid of most interactions… was ticklish.

"STOP! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE! STOP!"

"Tell me about it 'Easter'." Izumi teased, then Izumi realized that she was the only one laughing, and Kaguya despite her attempts at trying to tickle her, the woman simply stared with an annoyed look at Izumi. Then her whole presence seemed intimidating all of the sudden.

"Uh… right, don't talk about it. Sorry." She quickly stood up as Kaguya did so as well. Dusting the sand off of her suit and looked at Izumi.

"Fine. I will tell you about that story. But you better show more effort and skill later once we resume our session." Kaguya said in an annoyed sigh. The girl then grinned but tried not to say anything. They returned to their seats and the woman tried to recollect her past.

"So?" Izumi said in excitement. Kaguya was amazed at how much enthusiasm Izumi had with heroes and quirks in general. It surprised her still how much this girl idolized the concept. Much like her when she was young.

"I think I will start when I was a child, watching old pre-quirk era cartoons and movies."

"Cool." Izumi said loudly in between her story. Kaguya paused and looked at her.

"Sorry… didn't mean to. Just continue." Izumi said.

"I idolized the concept of being a butler, after seeing so many movies, comics, and TV shows of various kinds. I liked the idea of being this so called assistant to a strong and powerful hero."

"A butler?"

"Yes…" Kaguya said as she reminisced about the past.

* * *

_"Kaguya! Get your sister honey, supper's ready." A voice called out._

_ The little girl with her bunny-ears was still transfixed at an old movie that her parents kept. Her eyes were wide like dishes as she was near to the screen of the television. She was smiling happily as she saw her favorite character on screen helping and giving advice to a bat-costumed hero._

_ To say that she was stuck to the screen was an understatement. She didn't even hear what her mother had said to her._

_ "Kaguya! I said get your sister dear…" the voice said again._

_ "W-Wait just a second mother…"_

_ "Are you watching that movie again?" her mother said as she walked to their living room and saw her daughter wearing what seemed to be one of their father's tuxedos. It was too big on her of course but the girl liked it so much that she chose to wear it while watching her movie._

_ Her mother couldn't help but smile._

_ "Kaguya…"_

_ "Yes?" the girl said without looking._

_ "If you want to be like Alfred then be a good girl and follow mommy's orders okay?" Kaguya instantly stood up and bowed in a short curtsy as she swiftly turned the television off and fixed the whole living room in an orderly fashion before running off the stairs to get her sister. Her mother, that remained was quite pleased and surprised that she took this idolizing concept to such extremes. However, it didn't hurt for a girl like her to be this way. She was young after all…_

_ A moment later, Kaguya got her younger sister to join them in for a meal at the dining table. Their mother and father were talking to them about things in school, their work, and other things that were the usual norm of conversations in their household. _

_ Kaguya unlike her sister wasn't part of such conversations. For a family that was seemingly talkative and very emotional in their own respect, Kaguya seemed to be the odd one out of all of them. She remained quiet and if she was referred to or asked about she would reply with a sentence that was void of continuation into a conversation._

_ It wasn't bad per say… and her social skills with other people weren't bad neither. She just preferred to be herself, quiet and always ready to intercept and obey orders. Leaving some people (including her family) to be mostly clueless of what her real emotions were._

_ Yet, when it came to the topic of certain characters or films she liked that had butlers in play, she was surprisingly in awe and excitement. Like the veil of her expressionless face was unsheathed when such moments occur._

_ To her parents, they only saw this as a thing she loved being that she was a child. That all changed in one conversation at the dining table where the older bunny-eared daughter adamantly and firmly stuck her claim to a certain dream of hers._

_ "So Honey… mind telling us what you want to be when you grow up?" their mother asked the younger daughter, who was chewing her food. Her hair was white-gray in color and her bunny ears stuck out in a pleased manner._

_ "A PWO HEWRO OMF CURSE!" the girl cheerfully said as she chewed her food. Her older sister grimly stared at her as the younger girl quivered at her gaze._

_ "Chew your food first. Such behavior is unbecoming of a lady." Kaguya said in a serious tone. Her sister gulped the remnants of food in her mouth and nodded. The two parents didn't know how to react to that, either if it was something they should scold or something they could be proud of._

_ "Uh… Kaguya dear, what about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?" their mother said with a line of sweat and awkward smile on her face._

_ "Me?" the girl said as her mind froze for a moment, trying to think of what to say._

_ "Do you want to be a hero too like your sister?" their father said and all of them, including her younger sister waited for her response. The girl pursed her lips as she was still trying to think what to say. In her mind however, it seemed like she already had that decision taken care of._

_ "I… I want to be a butler. Like those people I watch, the great ones especially."_

_ It was quiet for a second as they reeled in what the girl had just said._

_ "A-A butler?" her father asked._

_ "Sweetie, are you sure? I don't think there's a course for people like that specifically, you can go to Hotel and Restaurant Manageme-"_

_ "No… I want to be a butler. One who will be there by the side of a great hero."_

_ "Why not be a hero yourself?" their father said._

_ "No… I want to be a butler. When I graduate I will be a butler. That is my dream and I will make it happen, you'll see." Kaguya said with a firm expression, to which transitioned back to her normal expression. Both parents looked at each other and the mother shrugged at that statement of hers. _

_ For it was yet another case in the bizarre childhood of the girl named Kaguya._

* * *

"You really took that to the literal sense huh?" Izumi commented.

"I don't see anyone complaining of you and your hero obsession Izumi." Kaguya commented back. Making the girl blush I embarrassment.

"Sorry."

"You don't need to, but I believe that is one of the reasons why I took a liking of you. Your drive for your own dream reminded me of my own as a child." Kaguya said, her tone close to that of a compliment. She just could not stop herself from disliking or ignoring the kid. Izumi had an aura around her that made her likable and friendly of which not even the likes of her could simply ignore or push away.

She liked that. A reverse of her when she was a kid.

"So what happened next?"

"I went to school. With the sole purpose of being a butler to a great hero." Kaguya said in a matter of fact way. Almost like she didn't care that much of what to say next that was about her school life.

"That's it?" Izumi said, disappointment in her tone.

"What do you expect? I am not a very interesting person. If there was some interesting thing about my school life, then I will be bound to tell you about it."

"No, I didn't mean that you need to tell me everything about what happened to you. Maybe just say some details like… how were you in school, how were you in grades, did you have crush, etc… Regular stuff that people usually say to each other in your age." Izumi explained. Kaguya looked away as she thought about it. Putting a hand on her chin as she tried to discern what was so special with her question.

But since the girl asked, she would give details at least.

"Hmm… I don't usually tell people stories about my past because I don't really care about it. The only thing that pleased me in my entire life was the day I did live my dream, which includes now."

"I see… but can you please just tell me a bit more about you? A flashback of you as a kid hoping to be a butler isn't a solid origin story that I could write in my journals."

"Ah. If it's details you want, then I can say some." Izumi then inched closer, resting her elbows on the table and her head being placed on her palms. She had a puppy dog-eyed expression that seemed to be excited and the same time begging for her to speak more.

She sighed.

"Well… I was the top of my class, on every grade, semester, and year in school. No one came close to me in grades. Even when I was admitted into my Hero Course school, I had no competitors nor students that came close to my performance." She said with an emotionless face.

Izumi was dumbfounded.

"W-What?"

"You heard me correctly Izumi. I was the most prolific student of all the schools that I attended to in life. I pursued myself to excel in almost every subject, physical test, or any activity the school chose me to be in. I was so renowned for my skills that the school blatantly banned me from any academic or physical competition since I was winning them all like a landslide." Kaguya once again said with a more explaining tone but she still acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

To which Izumi knew to herself that things like that were not normal… like at all.

"Are you serious? You're really that good in school? W-Why haven't I heard of you yet? Better yet, why hasn't the world known about you yet? Why have I never heard of a hero named 'Easter'?"

Kaguya raised a finger.

"First of all, the schools while honestly proud of me weren't at all totally happy that the other schools in competition events looked down on us. Because I was winning almost every category I was thrown in, they decided that I had enough wins to justify me being disqualified for everything. Even with that said, I still graduated with top marks."

"R-Right…" Izumi said in a small awkward laugh.

"The whole reason I dared to be good at everything because I was adamant and keen on finishing and seeing that dream of mine. So much so that it had been the only important thing in my brain for the last few years I lived and breathed in an academic institution. I believed that to achieve such an impossible dream, I needed to strive for the best. Regardless of what people say or otherwise, because it is in fact your dream and you yourself is the only person who's going to stir that ship to that direction."

Despite her words that came out like a robot saying it like she didn't care less of it, her last few sentences sounded like words of encouragement for Izumi. So the girl actually put them in her heart to learn from her perspective. She thought of her own dream and maybe… just maybe like what Kaguya said she can reach that destination, she just needed hard work and perseverance to see it through.

"I was so transfixed with that ideal of mine that everyone thought I was a special nutcase." Kaguya continued and she chuckled to herself, only to stop when the woman cleared her throat.

Izumi on the other hand, put a mental note to not be overly persevere like Kaguya was. Just enough that she won't end up like her. Not that it was bad of course. Still though…

"What is that expression that you young ones say? Right, it was 'anyhow'… if you want to ask why I was called 'Easter' specifically then that is a tale that I don't really mind telling. However, I don't think you will find it interesting either." the woman surmised. Izumi grew curious. Names in the hero world were vital and it left a lasting image of you when you either get known through desirable and less desirable circumstances. Usually the names are developed and picked in the hero course you enrolled in.

"Sure… you can tell me about it. I'm actually a bit interested as to how you were 'forced' into it, since I already know what the name meant." Izumi concurred.

"Actually… the name was given to me by a suitor of mine."

"A suito-Wait… you had a date in highschool?" Instantly the girl's senses perked up as the implication was already there for the taking.

"Yes. I did have someone that I've seen to for a couple of times."

"W-What happened then?" Izumi asked, her curiosity deepening. She was also curious as to why the woman didn't seem to mind saying these things out loud.

"It never worked between us and I despised the name he gave me." Kaguya said with a frown.

"He was the one who named you 'Easter'?"

"Yes. He did."

* * *

_Kaguya walked towards the front of the whole classroom. As she walked by it seemed like the whole class was silent when she approached. Like a large silent thunderstorm was about to be awakened when she arrives at the front. She had a small whiteboard in hand, complete with the chosen name she wrote that she was to present to the class._

_ Things were silent until she placed the whiteboard with a semi-heavy thud on the desk in front of everyone. Invoking the attention of everyone present. It seemed like fear was bound to everyone who was watching her. Not even the manliest of jocks, nor the most noisiest of gossip girls were keen on making a single insult or sentence at her way. They were all clearly intimidated as the bunny-eared woman emotionlessly looked at everyone and presented her hero name._

_ "Ms. Kaguya."_

_ Their teacher in charge of the current activity was surprised with how simplistic her name was._

_ "Are you sure that's the name you want to go with… Ms. Kaguya?" the professor which was an old pro hero that had fission blasts looked at her with a confused expression. He did not expect this, being that he was a new teacher and had never encountered the so-called 'Bunny-Eared Terror'._

_ "Why… is it a crime to put my name and an honorific before it?" she said dryly. Her gaze emitted such an intimidating presence that even he himself felt. His almost shattered pride was refurbished when he cleared his throat and tried to talk to her again._

_ "No it is not dear student, however your hero name decides how people see you, how they acknowledge you and how they think about you. It must be memorable and easy to read while also being catchy and unforgettable. A hero is not only there to see the safety of citizens, in a psychological aspect where are there to safeguard them both mentally and physically."_

_ Kaguya's expression never changed._

_ "So I take it the name is good then?" she said again with a deadpan look. _

_ "U-Uh…"_

_ Suddenly they heard a whistle coming from a boy in class who was waving at Kaguya with a smile. They all looked at him and wondered why on earth the guy wanted to be in the attention of HER of all people. Although, he didn't seem to mind their gazes._

_ "Yo teach, mind if I give a suggestion?"_

_ "What is it then?"_

_ "What about 'Easter'? Seems to fit her enough, with her charm and pretty looks." He said with vigor and interest in his voice as he suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at Kaguya who responded with an expressionless frown._

_ The whole classroom again was silent until they all laughed at the guy as well as Kaguya who was still looking intensely at the guy who suggested that name for her. Even the teacher tried to stifle a laugh. As things started to ascend in noise, Kaguya was not pleased. The name to her was horrible._

_**SNAP!**_

_The marker she had in hand broke in half like a stick. From that everyone went silent as laughs slowly drifted off into the abyss. She then walked towards the person who suggested the name and gave out the most intimidating face she could make along with the most hair-raising guise she could give out when her presence oozed out of her._

_ The guy however looked and smiled at her still._

_ "Wanna go out?" he said and Kaguya snapped. She grabbed him by the collar so that their eyes were level, but he still grinned mischievously. _

_ The tension was thick enough as it was, but it was broken when the teacher cleared his throat once again._

_ "I believe the name fits. Starting from this point on Ms. Kaguya, your hero name will be 'Easter'."_

_ Kaguya looked at her teacher with a wide shocked expression, broken only when the guy gave a piece of paper towards her. One that she snatched in the air and ripped in pieces._

_ "Do you wanna type my number in your phone?"_

* * *

"I thought you said you two dated… why do I get the feeling that you killed him for some reason?" Izumi said to the woman was barely paying attention to her question, the dread and anger towards that man still remained deep inside her.

"We actually did in fact. It didn't end up working since our personalities clashed too much so I had to break ties between him." She said with a rather small hint of appeasement in her tone.

"By breaking ties… not bones right?"

"I did a few on our first date. He didn't mind. I simply said sorry."

"Was that sorry sincere at least?"

Kaguya tried to recall it only to remember the record-number of times her suitor tried to kiss her and flirt with her. All times she hated but thought less of.

She shrugged to Izumi in response.

_Note to self… do not ask dating advice from Ms. Kaguya… like at all._

Izumi tried asking herself if there was a man that could like Kaguya, or anyone in particular and no one emerged in her head. She frowned in disappointment since this woman's mentality clearly wasn't what usual people tend to do.

"Do you remember him at least?"

"I remember he had wings on his back. As to others? None. I completely wanted to forget him so details like that are likely less to none in my memories."

"Y-Yeah… sure." Izumi said as Kaguya took a cup of water and drank it.

"Aside from those things and my training with my sensei… which I did beat in fact… nothing else was important nor interesting in my school life until I graduated." She said to Izumi, to which she noticed a slight tone of reassurance with the middle part of her sentence. The one regarding about her late 'sensei'. She decided to let it slide for now.

"So you graduated in the hero course?"

"Yes. That is so I can find a willing great hero to serve under. Not as a sidekick but as their butler." She said to Izumi, emphasizing the butler part.

Disregarding her obsession (which she can't really judge), she began to ask her again after her time graduating from school.

"What was your hero suit then?" Kaguya looked at her in surprise. She took hold the rim of her tailored suit and said:

"This is my hero suit." Izumi was almost disappointed as she thought her hero suit was something different. More… 'bunnier', although she did get why that was her hero suit and it was because of her butler fascination.

"It has features that's more than being a butler-oriented suit right?"

"Yes… aside from being a normal suit that I can wear for my duties… it acts as a type of body armor and cushioning layer that allows me to take more damage that I usually do. Not that it is a problem for me to take damage but it served its purpose many times in the end and I still manage it properly. Not a scratch is given to it until I fix it back again to its pristine condition."

"Wow. Never thought of a normal looking suit to be that badass."

"Yes… before I even got my job serving under Mr. Yagi, I was mostly an underground hero working with the police in trying to solve murders, drug dealers, and other shady deals. I did it for quite a significant time and I've tried my best to be under the radar at all times which I think is the reason why you haven't heard of me much."

Then something clicked within Izumi.

"Wait a second… are you the rumored phantom hero that always vanishes the moment he or she has done their job? The one who solved the Kyoto mass drug deal case?" Izumi said in excitement, and Kaguya nodded. Izumi then screeched in excitement as Kaguya herself was impressed that she managed to hear about her despite her constant tries at making sure the media never saw her.

"I can't believe it Ms. Kaguya! You're actually way cooler than I thought. The Phantom Hero was one of my favorites because the person didn't need the media nor public opinion to get the job done. They did it because they knew it was right… and seeing you know makes it all the more awesome!"

A small feeling of her heart fluttering deep inside her emotionless fatigue came within Kaguya and she managed a small smile in gratitude to how the girl saw her.

"Why did you quit your job as a hero though?" Izumi suddenly asked.

"I never did Izumi… It was just because I had a fated meeting with a Sir Nighteye and through him he asked if I was willing to be an assistant for All Might. He knew about my whereabouts and was aware of my offers to various popular and great heroes about me being their 'butler' and asked me if I can be with Mr. Yagi."

"Oh…" Izumi said in interest.

"To this day it remains still the happiest moment of my life. I finally got to reach my dream and now here I am a butler pure and true. Serving a great hero that I can advise, help, and supervise. A great butler like my favorite fictional character Alfred Pennyworth." Kaguya bellowed with the most emotion she could get on her face. That of happiness…

That of success and fulfillment.

To Izumi she thought of it as a thing to strive for. A thing to be inspired with… and even though Kaguya sure was a special case in terms of everything, she did give her the best advise.

And that was to remain your belief in your own dream and strive for the best to attain it. She smiled at the woman as she celebrated reminiscing that part of her life. It was a simple wish, one that she worked hard for and grasped it.

She wished that she could do it someday, not only in honor of the people cheering her on to succeed but also to the one unique Bunny-Eared woman who taught her even with little to few words in her line of speech.

"I could tell you the time I brought down a mob boss without them even noticing it." Kaguya offered and Izumi moved closer with her seat with enthusiasm to hear another story from her.

"Tell me more of your teachings 'sensei'." Izumi teased and the woman yet again smiled.

Truly she was in fact an Easter Bunny… one that kicked ass but still made people smile.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 9**

* * *

**AN: My OC Kaguya is someone I enjoyed in creating. If you guys want I can expand this backstory of hers a bit... hehe. **

**See ya in CHAPTER 9 guys! It'll be something to look forward to. I hope. LOL. **


	15. IX Unveiling of the Goddess

**AN: Never thought I'd finish this... lol Enjoy the madness that is this chapter...**

* * *

IX. Unveiling of the Goddess

Dizziness… that's what she felt as exhaustion overcame her. Even with the headband on, the girl felt an overwhelming feeling of pain in her mind and body. A nagging pain which came with a feeling of something an agonizing burn deep inside her muscles, her abdomen, and heart. An unbearable pain that she had never experienced until now.

She could only feel herself falling from where she seemingly levitated seconds before. All her strength and will sapped from her body completely. Not even the soothing tone of wind behind her back that refreshed her had helped with the feeling of dread and uncertainty that was closing in. She was meters away from the asphalt ground. Yet her eyes were starting to close. The pain too much as her headband glowed brightly. Weakened crackles of red energy swirled around her. The black energy whip constructs flying loosely around her.

She had no strength left to give.

She did it all with one swift maneuver. One maneuver that cost her greatly with how the state of her body was in. It was silent. Not even a soft smile was within her grasp.

Nothing.

Until she felt everything stop. The mental image of that fearsome nightmare coming back to her. Which ultimately shifted back towards the shining multi-colored female entity comforting her. She opened her eyes and saw that she was somehow a few inches from the ground, with a familiar face of the brown-haired girl she met earlier. Smiling down on her as she weakly smiled back.

She was settled down on the ground and some of her senses were back in play again. Seemingly the pain was gone temporarily as she sat up and saw everything around her. Eyes that belonged to multiple people stared at her in shock. Buildings and debris around her were everywhere. Some burning still but the center of attention was on her.

The brown-haired girl helped her up a bit when she stood up.

"Oh my gosh… a-are you okay?" Uraraka said to her. She furrowed her brow as she was still dizzy. Loose tendrils of Black Whip hung from her arms and body. The spots where the whips came out were bleeding. Not strong at first, but was streaming continuously from her as the girl helping her up seemingly panicked.

"Y-You're bleeding! Oh God! WE NEED HELP!" She said around her as Izumi tried smiling, only to fall from her companion's grasp and dropped on the asphalt. Her arms stopped the fall as she laid on all fours. Weakly trying to breathe as her companion panicked further. Streams of saliva mixed with blood emanated from her lips. She was coughing heavily now when torrents of blood came from each heavy cough. The strain on her body caused by the backlash of her quirks came upon her like a wildfire.

It was only then when in everyone's horror, as they took her headband off, she vomited large amounts of bodily fluids composed mostly of blood.

It was the strangest, scariest, and most devastating show of power that came from one seemingly small and fragile-looking girl. All of those who witnessed were utterly shocked with how it all played out. It was only a manner of minutes but it was enough for everyone to question if it was real or not.

Especially those in the monitoring room of the UA faculty.

Jaws dropped as silence covered the entire room as the broadcast was replayed. The live feed focused around the one girl that caused all of this. Leaving most of the pro heroes who were watching to be in disbelief.

One teacher in fact, the pro hero known as Eraserhead had his eyes widened in surprise and shock. He was holding a tablet showing information about the examinee, Izumi Midoriya, age fourteen.

"W-What… just happened?" Shota Aizawa said.

Then one person answered.

"That girl… is the subject in question that we all need to talk about." All of those which were present turned their eyes to the speaker. It was All Might himself with the retired hero Gran Torino by his side. Aizawa then noticed that Nemuri wasn't there in the room and that the principal, Nezu seemed to be aware of what was happening.

"Why do we need to talk about her exactly?" the pro hero Snipe said.

All Might bared a serious expression on his face.

"Because that girl unknowingly holds the fate of the world on her shoulders…"

* * *

**TWO HOURS EARLIER…**

"Oh… we're sitting next to each other." Izumi said in displeasure when she saw that inside the designated orientation room, the person she sat next to was none other than her rival and pseudo-friend Katsuki Bakugou. He himself was displeased as well.

"Tch… just fucking keep your mouth shut Deku." Katsuki said as he rested his head on his hand while feeling annoyed sitting next to her. Izumi let out a playful and annoyed tongue at his direction as she sat on the chair slowly. Her other classmate and friend Himiko also cheerfully hummed as she saw next to her. Earlier, they helped a foreign exchange student named Syndel to clear up where she was to go inside the campus. Thankfully with the help of her and Himiko as well as the kind and friendly girl Ochako, they managed to guide the girl in time to where she needed to go while also parting as quick acquaintances. Himiko even wanted to see the Syndel again after the exam, claiming that she was "quite an interesting person" to which Izumi simply smiled at. She herself hoped to see those two again, either inside the course of the exam or after. Maybe even in school should they pass.

Hopefully.

Himiko looked like she was so excited for the event and exam to start. Izumi on the other hand kept a watchful and cautious eye to everything that took place. Easing herself and mentally patting herself in the back to stay calm. It was working for the most part. Katsuki… was, well whatever the boy was thinking right now or feeling right now was not her concern much less her obligation.

She waited as the entire room had filled up and the lights in this dimly-lit orientation room came to life. The screen in front of them too blazed in color with the UA school symbol emblazoned on it. A podium was at the center and to Izumi's sudden change of mood from easy to excited was caused by a familiar and fairly-popular Pro Hero named Present Mic.

"Izu isn't that-"

"IT'S PRESENT MIC! AHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI…" She excitedly said, provoking Katsuki and the rest of the students near them to look at her direction. One in particular, a boy in glasses looked disapprovingly at her until everyone's attention was brought back to Present Mic who began to speak.

"WHAT'S UP UA CANDIDATES? THANKS FOR TUNING IN TO ME THE SCHOOL DJ! COME ON AND LET ME HEAR YOU OUT!"

The enthusiasm, excitement and vigor of his voice was so high… but he was only greeted by silence. Silence that was so awkward, a drop of sweat emerged from the side of his face. Except for one redhead girl who clapped and grinned at him in the middle of the crowd. Once again, eyes were on her as she began noticing it and stopped clapping. The glasses boy from earlier crinkled his face at her antics yet again. With that said, Present Mic liked how the girl responded to her amidst the silence.

He winked and continued talking.

"Taking it mellow huh? That's all right we'll skip right to the main show." He said in a low voice. Then cutting back to a higher toned voice yet again.

"Let's talk about how this practical exam's gonna go down okay? ARE YOU READY?"" he said again in an attempt to rile up the audience.

No one talked nor reacted still. Silence was in the air.

"YEAH…" he said as the awkward atmosphere persisted.

Izumi only smiled this time as she 'fangirled' on the Voice Hero Present Mic. She then started to mutter incoherently to herself, which made both her seatmates equally shocked at how much she obsessed over seeing this one Pro Hero in action.

"Shut it will ya."

"Shut it yourself grenade boy." Izumi spat back as Himiko awkwardly grinned.

The screen behind Present Mic suddenly changed showing graphic charts and symbols to better understand the Practical portion of the exam. He then made a pose and continued to explain.

"Like what your application said, you boys and girls will be conducting two mock battles in a suburban setting! Here's the ghist my friends, after I drop the mic you will be designated to your labeled battle centers… sound good?"

An infographic came up the screen and everyone suddenly saw that there were segregated A-E batch zones where the labels tell on which battle center they will be part in. Izumi looked at hers and saw that her designated batch was B.

"I see… they're splitting us up so we don't get paired with our friends."

"Uh-huh…" Izumi said.

"HEY! That's not fair! I want to be in the same batch as Izu!" Himiko cried out. Izumi smiled back as the girl kept on complaining. Katsuki then looked at Izumi's card, to which the girl held back in recoil.

"That's a shame, would have wanted to kick your ass Deku." Katsuki sneered.

"Excuse me? If I was in your batch I'd murder your points Kacchan." Izumi responded and they went into a small heated debate, stopped only when Present Mic explained a bit more details about the batch system. Unbeknownst to them below, the glasses wearing boy was getting furious with each second of their 'insubordination'.

"Okay let's check your targets. There are three kinds of villains with each corresponding points once you destroy them. Points are based on their level of difficulty so be warned a bit by the higher tier villains in the point system. Your goal is to use your quirks and other advantages you have in hand to rip apart these things like a guitar solo, which in turn grants you points. The higher the points the more chance you pass!"

"Heh… I'll squash any turd that'll get in my way." Katsuki commented. To which Izumi frowned at.

"Asshole."

"But wait! You have to make things heroic boys and girls! So no harming nor hurting any other examinees along the way okay?" Present Mic added. Making Izumi to have a triumphant stare at him and he looked away with a grumpy expression. Amidst the explaining, a boy raised his hand and it turned out to be the one that was looking at them in disappointment earlier.

"Excuse me sir!" as soon as he said it, lights came down on him. Making him in sort of a spotlight.

"What is your question my man?"

"With all due respect sir, in the application paper they gave to us, it lists that there are four villains to encounter. If this is an error made by the UA officials, it is shameful. We are all exemplary students and we expect more from Japan's most prestigious school, so mistakes like this will not do!" the boy proclaimed and suddenly he pointed at the direction of Izumi, Katsuki, and Himiko who all stared at him. His finger was intentionally pointed at Izumi most of all.

"Additionally, you with the red hair! Along with your accomplices!"

"What'd I do?" Himiko said as she turned to see Izumi blushing in shame and embarrassment.

"You and your lot have been noisy this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this seriously then leave. You are all disrupting the rest of us." He said and Izumi smiled sheepishly, wanting to melt in her seat. Himiko's expression was unchanged as giggles were heard around them. Katsuki raised his middle finger at the boy and he continued to exclaim further arguments against them.

There was a slight disturbance in the orientation room until a female teacher in armor stepped inside and looked displeased at what was happening.

"σιγαλιά!" the depth and heaviness of the voice was felt by everyone. All eyes looked at the woman who was angry and disappointed with her gaze upon them. Immediately everyone went back to normal. Even the boy with glasses and his argument with Katsuki vanished in an instant. The woman then gestured at Present Mic that indicated the time he was wasting. He nodded with a thumbs up as she left the room. Almost as quick as she came in.

"Who was that?" Himiko said, Izumi never got to saw the woman completely so she had no clue who it was.

"All Right, All Right… Examinee No. 7111, thanks for pointing it out with your request." The infographic behind him changed and showed that mysterious fourth villain type.

"The fourth villain type is worth zero points! Those big guys are just an obstacle in your way. They'll be placed in each battle center and you must treat them only as a hurdle to avoid. Since battling them… ends with no point. I recommend highly to just avoid it and focus on the ones with the points on the charts!" as he said this the boy in glasses took a bow in his seat. The light over him was turned off as every student inside began discussing about the Practical portion.

"That's all I got for you today. So I'll sign you off with a present, it's the school motto! As General Bonaparte once laid down: 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes'. Mh-hmm, no truer words can be said. So…"

He posed again.

"ARE YOU GUYS READY TO GO BEYOND? IF SO, THEN LET'S HEAR A PLUS ULTRA!"

Again, nobody came along with what he said. Izumi whispered it though.

"GOOD LUCK AND MAKE SURE YOU STUDIED MORE THAN JUST BOOKS KIDS!"

As soon as he said that, the lights went on and a few other teachers went in to guide them to the written portion of the exam, based on the batches they were placed in. Katsuki immediately left them as Izumi took a deep breath and began muttering to herself about being ready about this. The pressure was real now and the exam was about to start. She hoped everything she went through on those ten months was enough. She looked at Himiko as they both stood up.

"Hey Izu… good luck alright?" Himiko said.

Izumi smiled at her friend with a thankful grin.

"You too Miko, see you after this." And with that, Izumi placed one more step towards her dream.

* * *

Outside of Faculty Room…

Nemuri Kayama was wearing her hero suit as she waited for someone to arrive. Some of the other teachers were busy with the written portion of the exam as proctors. She on the other hand, was a judge for the Practical so she wasn't needed yet. Neither was the new addition to the staff that she was waiting on. The principal and her talked a bit more earlier that day when she arrived so it was assured that he too was going to be present to watch the practical, as well as informing the faculty and staff later about this meeting in regards to Izumi.

To her knowledge, the girl had already arrived at school and by this hour was answering the written part of the exam. She hopes to whatever God was up there to bless Izumi as well as to keep her safe in the entirety of this. Although part of her was confident that the girl was ready. So ready that acing this will be something noteworthy of remembering.

She calms herself down after thinking of that. Assuring herself that the girl will be alright. As she was thinking of Izumi, the person she was waiting for finally arrived.

"Midnight… has Gran Torino arrived too?"

Nemuri looked at her right and saw Toshinori, wearing a suit and tie that hung loosely upon his small frame. It was comical at that stage but she wasn't nitpicking about it. His assistant Kaguya was there at his side too.

"Yeah, he came early this morning. He's up there with Nezu, catching up."

"I see… Young Izumi's arrived hasn't she?" Toshinori asked to which the woman nodded back. They then entered the faculty room and went towards her desk. As the wait for the practical portion and the meeting later began. As soon as they arrived, Nemuri had a small thought in her head.

"Where's Inko?"

"She's outside… waiting until I take her in. She's okay if that's what you're asking. A bit anxious but alright." He assured. His tone seemed protective. Nemuri didn't mind that.

"We have to take her in as soon as the practical's over okay? I've already talked it out with Nezu, he accepts permission to let her enter the school grounds. On the condition that she doesn't do anything stupid." She warned.

"She won't" he assured again. Nemuri raised an eyebrow.

"All Might. You have to understand this feud between us friends isn't going to end very well. Especially for Inko, we need to keep her restrained. Unless the others call the authorities on us."

"I know what you mean. She's actually more scared than on edge with this thing on Eraser and Present Mic. I don't think she'll lash out like what she was before."

"I hope so. For Izumi's sake." Nemuri replied as they thought about it. they both exchanged sighs with Kaguya frowning upon the topic.

"So… how'd she do earlier today? I was told she trained for a bit before coming here." Nemuri said in order to change the topic to a lighter one. All Might smiled as he looked at Kaguya.

"You won't believe what just happened…" he said and instantly Nemuri got interested.

* * *

"Hello… my name is Momo Yaoyorozu, it is great to meet a fellow recommended student like you. May I ask what your name is?" the student, Momo said to a quiet and gruff-looking boy with two sides of his hair colored differently in red and white. He also seemed to have a scar on his other eye. He looked up at her with an emotionless expression. Akin to boredom most likely.

He then stared at the hand that was offering him a handshake.

For a few seconds Momo thought he would return the favor, only for him to look away and continued to mope by himself in his seat.

"O-Okay… It was nice meeting you I guess." She sheepishly said as she drew back her arm and went back to her seat. It was only the two of them present at that time and Momo actually thought that today would be much, much more interesting than this. Yesterday her parents got a call from the school, saying that tomorrow there would be a planned (yet voluntary) get-together seminar for all recommended students. This also had the bonus of allowing them to have access to watch and study the entrance examinees taking the test at the same day. Momo was excited about this prospect as it would not only make her to have new friends within the circle of recommended students, but it will also allow her to see the potential classmates she would be sharing with for the rest of the first semester.

Unfortunately, it was just the two of them… and the other one present seemed to be less than pleased in coming today. They were allowed a small classroom to confer in, and by the time that was on the clock above the whiteboards, it seemed that the written exam of the examinees had already started. She wished the best of luck for her future potential classmates. Hoping that they would be better than mister grumpy here who kept on moping to himself.

He didn't even have the common sense to say hi to her.

She frowned. Not that she expected everything would go her way. She was used to everything thrown at her in a silver platter, but since in reality not all people had the same situation as her it meant that not everything would go her way. Even now.

She sighed. Expecting too much was a bad thing. Proper manners and etiquette had to be observed. She wasn't the rich girl type that was rude to everyone, in truth she was very friendly and easy to talk to. Though she was unsure if it was because of her popularity, looks, oddly mature and feminine figure (Ugh…), or because of her intelligence. Maybe all of them were valid.

But she wanted to find friends. Real friends. She had some before but she was going to attend to this school, so that meant new people and new surroundings were the norm. She hoped to see some of those new friends today. Maybe make one while this all went by. As it seemed like it was just going to be him and her that attended this (voluntary) seminar.

_Stop complaining Momo… this isn't the time. I'm sure something good will happen today…_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the doors of the classroom opened and thankfully it seemed like students were coming in. She smiled in glee to finally be rid of this boredom and loneliness until she noticed that it was three older looking teens that were deep in conversation.

"I hope we get to see some cool quirks today at the practical exam! It would be so darn cool to gush over and talk about them." The blue-haired girl that was older than Momo said. His companion a more than clichéd version of the emo cliché simply sighed in an annoyed manner.

"You say that to everyone we meet Nejire… it's not like everyone has an uber special quirk you can gush over." He said in a bored manner, almost the same as Momo's companion in the room.

The third one, which seemed to be the leader of the group was a blonde and smiling older boy with an excited but calm expression on his face. Even the way he moved smelled confidence, not enough to overwhelm everyone, but enough to spread comfort to everyone that saw him.

"I agree with her actually. I do hope we can see some pretty good potential freshmen for this year's semester. I can hardly wait to watch to be honest." As they said this, they continued to talk to one another until they reached the head and middle of the classroom. Momo put on a smile at them as they seemed to be surprised that it was only two of them present.

"Uh… is it really just the two of you?" the blonde boy said.

Momo looked embarrassed and nodded at them. For some reason the blue-haired girl suddenly rushed to her side and began to stare all over her. She had a grin on her face and was so happy seeing her face to face. Momo didn't know how to react to that.

"Oohhh… you're so pretty! What's your quirk? Mine's called SHOCKWAVE! What's yours?" Momo was overwhelmed but liked this attention better than the glum and emotionless presence her co-recommended student had.

"Oh, m-my quirk is called 'Creation'. I-I can make things from scratch using lipids from my body." She said as her skin glowed in multiple colors, and out of it came a Russian nesting doll. The older girl widened her eyes in excitement and asked Momo if she can take it. She replied with an enthusiastic yes and she grabbed the item slowly while she looked at it like it was a scientific discovery to behold.

As the two continued talk over her quirk, the blonde boy cleared his throat.

"Right, now that's done it's time for a proper greeting! We expected you guys to be more than just two but since it seems like no one else is coming, I guess we'll do with what we have."

Momo smiled, at least the three seemed friendly.

"Look Tamaki! Ain't this cool?" the girl said to her emo-looking teen and he looked away.

At least most of them seemed social and friendly.

"We're third year students and we've been given the job to supervise you two for the remainder of the day. Trust me, even though there isn't that much of us around, we'll all have a good time!" the blonde boy proclaimed. Momo clapped at him, although her companion the glum fellow recommended student just shrugged in response.

_Rude…_

The three older teens didn't seem to mind though and were about to start with their small seminar when a knock on the door interrupted their line of thought. Opening the door, they saw a woman dressed in her hero suit while wearing peculiar looking eyewear strutted in. Momo blushed as she saw what the heroine wore and she instantly found out who it was.

It was the R-Rated Hero, Midnight and surprisingly along with her was All Might… wearing a yellow suit. Momo didn't know how to react as the number one hero was in her presence.

_That's… All Might._

Even the three older teens seemed to be surprised that he came. Even the glum boy that was supposedly Momo's companion was shocked. Why were they there in the first place?

* * *

**ONE AND A HALF HOUR LATER…**

Izumi took the bag she was carrying and proceeded to the changing rooms. The written exam in one description for her was simply a breeze. Not that she was overly confident with her answers but with everything that was taught to her, it seemed like it became easier for her to answer it than most. She was actually surprised that with the speed and pace she was in when she answered the exam, she ended up finishing first out of her batch. In almost every subject.

She did encounter some difficulty, and that was with the math portion. However, with the intensified reviews she did with Himiko which somehow worked along the way… it seemed that she had an easier time than the examinees in her batch. Because whenever she finishes, she looks around and sees that most of her companions looked frustrated, anxious, bewildered, and hardened.

She wished them all good luck however and waited for at least one person to pass before she could pass her own. As to lower suspicion on her part.

Now, that the written exam was over the practical was about to start. They were given a short break to eat their lunches with their batchmates as well as to change their clothes for the Practical. A bus was due in a few minutes to load them up to the nearby testing zone. At the very start of the break Izumi noticed that almost everyone scrambled to change clothes before eating. She did the complete opposite, while eating a meal that her mother made for her she waited until everyone was done with changing. After seeing that most people were finished, she finished her food and got up to change.

Thankfully the women's changing room that was designated for them was empty and she could change in silence. She then placed the bag on one of the benches and opened it. Rummaging through it to see a plastic-covered wrapping on the clothes she needed for the practical. She was told by her mother earlier that the one who prepared her bag was her aunt.

She opened the plastic wrapping and saw what was underneath. The clothes seemed to be newly bought and as Izumi took them out of her bag. She then saw that the pants she was going to wear was form-fitting, and skin tight.

She blushed at the implications of that. They seemed to look like yoga pants more so than anything. The girl wasn't that confident with how her body looked like but seeing this made her blush profusely in embarrassment.

_Aunt Nemu… what the hell?_

She then saw that a note was attached on the plastic. She read it as she took the red shirt from her bag.

_Dear Izumi, make sure that you wear my gifts for you okay? It'll leave a lasting impression. :3_

_ Love, your Aunt Nemu_

There was a heart symbol at the end of it and Izumi felt a sense of gratitude and happiness from how seemingly special her aunt did for buying her these clothes. However, they were a tad bit too much even for her. Still, she needed to wear it.

She reluctantly sighed and decided to wear it. It wouldn't be that bad she reckoned, but she did like the red shirt given to her. It matched well with her get up.

As she put on the skin-tight pants, she noticed that it felt more comfortable than she realized and she went to the nearest mirror to see it. While it was suggestive, it did leave a lot of flexibility and the cloth that was made from it seemed durable.

She nervously looked at herself at the mirror yet again as she saw that it accentuated too much of her curves. She blushed at that and cursed her aunt for being so forward with this. She was not the type of girl to be like her, that's why she was a bit too embarrassed with what she was wearing.

Using her uniform's skirt wasn't an option too. As her mastery of Black Whip involved her using it as swinging contraptions for increased maneuverability and speed. Much like that old pre-quirk superhero in comics. The one with the arachnid insignia.

After seeing that this won't do, she decided to take the long and heavy dark-green jacket she carried with her in her bag. This jacket was a gift to her by Kaguya, who jokingly didn't know the measurements of her form so it ended up a bit large on her. She liked it still and would wear it casually when she wanted to. Though not a lot of people seemed to agree with how she looked with it.

She put it over her red shirt and found that it covered most of her butt properly. Making her feel a lot more easier with how she presented herself. She then looked at herself in the mirror and found that the whole get up actually looked good on her.

She felt comfortable enough to walk outside and be seen by everyone. Not that she wanted to draw attention, which was the complete opposite of what she wanted.

She smiled and wore her headband. Clicking in place, the device turned on and shimmered in red light. She used a bit of her vision mode and saw that her focus was on point.

She looked at herself one more time as it was near the point of getting the students to the bus for the Practical portion. Deciding that she was ready she re-assured herself that things will go alright. She then took her bag and left the changing room.

Climbing up the bus along with her co-examinees.

It wasn't a long trip but Izumi's anxiousness grew. She wasn't scared of anything, just a bit on edge for what was to happen. More on with how good she will be for the exam. How many points she will gain, and most of all, if she had any chance at beating Katsuki with their little wager.

She grinned meekly to herself… it's going be alright she said.

Things will go her way.

**LATER…**

Stepping out of the bus, she saw that the entire complex that was to be used for the practical was enormous. It was lifelike, as if the school had just constructed an actual living and breathing city inside the campus grounds. It was large and wide while it was surrounded by fortified walls around it. She was amazed to see it all first-hand and as they all walked down the preparation area for this test, Izumi wished that she wasn't so anxious in the first place since the venue itself was a sight to behold.

They were then funneled into an area as they awaited orders to start the practical. Izumi stood in place from where everyone was grouping up and looked around. Her batchmates looked pumped and ready for what was to come next while she, was a bit apprehensive and cautious.

Yet seeing that she was now here, she decided a bit of warm up was needed. After dropping her bags towards the designated area, she ran back to the preparation zone and started some warm-up exercises. The exercises that All Might and Kaguya taught her.

She did her routine while focusing on herself that she could do this. As she did so, some eyes were looking at her… wondering what she was doing as well as thinking how a girl like her decided to enter the exam. She wasn't skinny per say, nor was she small compared to the rest. She was quite tall, though her looks and how most people perceived her didn't go towards anything positive.

She didn't mind them of course. She only needed to focus on the exam. Nothing more and nothing less. Even though everyone around her thought that she had nothing to give, she needed to prove them wrong by showing them.

After finishing her routine, she heard that voice call out to her.

"Oh hey! You're Izumi right?" the voice said and thankfully Izumi saw the brown-haired girl from earlier at the entrance of the school. She looked to be pleased as well for seeing her there. Izumi did the same and waved at her as she got near her.

"So nice to see you again Uraraka." She greeted.

"Likewise, and wow you look kinda pretty." The girl said as Izumi blushed and sheepishly looked away while scratching the back of her head.

"M-My aunt wanted me to wear it… s-she said it would leave an impression." Izumi embarrassingly stated while behind her a pair of perverted boys whistled at her. She sighed heavily and Black Whips formed around her right arm in less than a second and tripped both of the boys that whistled at her. They fell on the ground with a heavy crash. Silencing them temporarily. Izumi felt a bit shameful for letting her anger lash out but it seemed like her companion wasn't fazed at all with what happened. In fact, the girl giggled at her with what she just did.

"N-Not that kind of impression I hoped to get unfortunately..."

"Heh… I like your look. It isn't even that bad. Though the jacket over your shirt makes you kinda badass." The girl said as a compliment. Izumi smiled as she pulled the jacket down a bit as not to expose her behind.

"Ehehe… It's a gift from a friend, it also helps that it covers a bit of my… s-shameful parts. Might have died from embarrassment if I never wore this." She admitted.

Uraraka giggled once again at the redhead as Izumi looked her over.

"You don't look bad yourself Uraraka. I would have liked to wear something like that instead of these pants though…" she said as they both laughed and continued to chat. Unbeknownst to them, a familiar glasses-wearing boy was looking at them from afar. He was a bit too displeased with what Izumi was wearing, although he didn't seem to bother now that he's seen it.

"Where's your glasses by the way?" Uraraka said.

"Those old things? I can see better even without my glasses when I wear this headband of mine." She pointed. Uraraka looked curious as the red-horn adored headband was glowing.

"This helps me focus my quirk while also making my body stable. So, my vision is also clearer somewhat when I wear it too." Izumi continued with a proud smile when she recalled the day she got it.

"Cool… I don't have gadgets myself but my gloves help me control how I use my quirk I guess." Uraraka said as she showed Izumi. Izumi then used her vision mode, allowing a faint red glow to manifest on her eyes. Uraraka was surprised at first but Izumi didn't seem to be hurt or something.

A red-violet hue was present in Uraraka's aura. _Zero Gravity…_

The light from Izumi's eyes shimmered away and she suddenly looked amazed at Ochako.

"Your quirk is Gravity-based? That's so darn cool!" Izumi bellowed with excitement.

"Wha- How'd you know what my quirk is?" the girl said in surprise.

"Well, when my eyes glow it enables me to get a vague sense of what a person's quirk is when I look at them. I felt a hint that it was close to gravity so I made a hunch."

"Wow… that's actually awesome, and when you think about it… very useful." Ochako thought as they continued to chat. As they did so, another bus seemed to arrive to deliver another person. Everyone looked surprised since every member in the batch was accounted for. Out of the bus however, came another familiar face…

"Hey… isn't that Syndel?" Ochako mused as they saw the mute blue-haired girl arrive. Wearing simple-looking jeans and a shirt to compliment her entire look. The girl then rushed towards them as she began to once again make hand gestures and signals to say something along the lines of her being grateful and excited to be with them in the practical.

"It's good to see you girl." Izumi said as Syndel nodded. She let out her hand and the machine-like particles transformed into another screen-like device.

_"The teachers said I will be taking the practical with you guys…" _Izumi and Uraraka read and was genuinely happy that one more familiar soul was with them in this practical exam. Though, Izumi wished that Himiko was part of their batch.

She wondered where the blonde girl was.

The three girls started to catch up when the P.A. system surrounding the preparation area and the zone they were about to enter blared to life. The voice that came out was none other than Present Mic himself. Izumi still could not believe that her aunt left out details of who the teachers were in UA.

"WHAT'S UP EXAMINESS OF BATCH B! ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?"

Silence. Some of the students even complained to start the exam already. Izumi and her companions felt the same, though Izumi wanted to get along with what the voice hero was playing with. She kept to herself however.

"I SEE… YOU'RE ALL PUMPED AND READY TO START THE PRACTICAL EXAM! YEAH! JUST REMEMBER KIDS, TAKE NOTE OF THE RULES AND GUIDELINES PRESENTED IN THE ORIENTATION ROOM EARLIER AND GO ALONG WITH SPIRITS RAISED. SHOW HOW BEYOND YOU WILL GO FOR WITH YOUR DREAM!"

Izumi raised her fists and clenched them.

This was it. Everyone around her felt the same. Ochako let out a determined look with her hands ready and Syndel transformed her arms into large gauntlets that looked to empower her punches (it reminded Izumi of a certain old cartoon as well). Izumi took another deep breath and settled her feet on the ground.

"THE PRACTICAL EXAM SHALL NOW COMMENCE!" Present Mic shouted through the speakers. His voice almost overpowering what the devices could let out. The gates to the city-simulation zone opened and everyone could see the robots which contained individual point values roaming around. Waiting for first contact.

Everyone waited for the cue.

"UH… I ALREADY SAID THAT THE EXAM HAS STARTED GUYS? DID YOU ALL GET THAT?" Present Mic said through the speakers. Confusing everybody.

"GO ARLEADY! A TRUE HERO NEVER WAITS WHILE DANGER IS HAPPENING! GOOD LUCK AND PLUS ULTRA!" he screamed with vigor and this time the examinees followed suit. Everyone shouted their individual warcries as adrenaline, excitement and pure on energy was felt by everyone.

Examinees dashed into the gates and multiple series of quirks were being thrown out in a multi-colored haze of action and flurry that engulfed the area. Everyone was finding robots to kill a the carnage of scrap metal and parts flew everywhere like a warzone.

Ahead of all of them was Syndel who transformed her feet into something that would enhance her speed and strength. She was breaking villains left and right with efficiency not seen by anyone that day. Following her was the glasses-wearing boy that seemed to have engines on his feet. He zipped in and out taking out multiple opponents with each strike.

Ochacko amidst the crowd wasn't doing bad either as she levitated and broke down a handful of the robots with her gravity quirk.

It was pure chaos that had every examinee bloodthirsty for anything metal that moved. Quirks of various kinds were being charged, shot, or unleashed upon the flurry of activity.

Leaving Izumi in the middle of it all who had not made any progress.

The redhead looked around and she let out a line of Black Whip to latch upon the top of a nearby building. With speed and skill unmatched by anyone below except for a notable few, she scaled the city blocks looking for something to destroy and wreck with her quirk.

But just as she was going to strike a machine, another person intercepts it and destroys it in front of her. Leaving her with no points and no scrap metal to break.

She moved herself on a stable large signboard and saw a three pointer giving difficulty amongst a group of examinees. She looked around the area and made a quick and short plan to obliterate the robot by taking its head off. She shot a line of black whip towards the head of the target with record-breaking speeds and just as she was about to tear it off…

**BZZZZZZTTTTTTT! **A line of blue laser-like energy incinerated and blew the robot before she could even make a move. She frowned as she saw the quirk user, it was a blonde boy that winked at her. She rolled her eyes as she moved to the next area of the city. Trying to spot any robot that could be destroyed.

She needed something. Anything at all to wreck.

Yet with every swing, dodge, kick, strike, or any action she did in the last few minutes did not seem to work as Every. Goddamn. Time. Another person took her would-be kill.

She was starting to get anxious. This strategy of hers was not working. She landed herself on the ground and began to sprint. Hoping that she could encounter at the very least one robot. She ran pretty fast for herself in the practical exam and as she looked around it seemed that there was no robot in sight. Every damn target was being attacked, taken care of, destroyed or otherwise. Nothing seemed to be left for her.

She began to curse under her breath as she ran. Sweat began to accumulate on her forehead as time passed. She didn't know what the time limit was to the exam but she knew that there was a limit. At the back of her mind, it seemed like she was starting to get scared of the possibility of her getting no points at all.

She shook her head. She didn't need that. Focus was what she needed. Focus.

She gritted her teeth as she now used her quirk to move herself forward in a much faster pace. She was not going to leave empty-handed. She will pass this exam, she assured herself.

Then suddenly her prayers were seemingly answered when a three-pointer appeared in front of her. The robot let out a warning that she was the target and Izumi grinned. With the amount of frustration and anger she was in this thing was about to meet its-

**BOOM!**

She spoke too soon.

"Catch up will you?" the glasses boy said, the one who appeared to break the machine in front of her. Izumi stood there for at least a second as she clenched her fists. Angered with how things went as well as how things were going. Her vision darkened in red as stronger streams of red energy circled around the horns of her headband.

She sprinted away with more adrenaline. Hoping that she could accumulate points.

At least that's what she hoped deep inside.

* * *

12:46 Hours, Practical Exam Monitoring Room…

"Lots of potential candidates this year… what'd you say Snipe?" the pro hero Cementoss said as him and the pro hero Snipe watched footage of Katsuki Bakugou running rampant on the streets breaking down and pulverizing almost every single target he encountered with general ease.

"Kids these days are getting quite skillful with their quirks I'll say."

"I'm already seeing a couple few candidates that are worthy to pass." The pro hero Space 13 said as she and Powerloader watched the blue-haired mute girl use multiple gadgets, weapons, and contraptions to actively and efficiently destroy targets with such a speed that it was now close to half of the existing school record of the Practical Exam. They were both astonished at how the girl showed her mastery with her quirk. They each had a tablet in hand and talked about this particular exchange student.

Most of the male heroes liked how fast and effective Bakugou was with his progress while the other judges who were watching especially Ectoplasm was amazed at how tactical the more-less nuanced yet effective examinees were. One of those in his hand was the profile of Himiko who was effectively doing surprise attack after surprise attack amongst the machines with quick skill and execution.

Like a ballerina using a knife as she danced away with her large grin.

One of the teachers present, Shota Aizawa or better known as Eraserhead watched the exam take fold with a critical and scornful eye with some of the examinees in regards to their performance. Even the higher scoring candidates was being fact-checked and criticized. Especially the Bakugou boy and the exchange student. Their scores were high but they were being reckless with their actions. Too much property damage and too much carelessness with how they left the targets on where they stood.

"Seeing someone you like Aizawa?" the principal, Nezu said. The animal quirk user looked at Aizawa waiting for an answer as the man kept on watching and taking mental notes with each candidate he was looking at.

"You know I don't cling to such things." He replied.

"Heh, I think you're far more engrossed with this year's candidates than last years." Aizawa huffed after he said that and continued to swipe the profiles of examinee he saw on the screens.

"They're all the same… untrained. Unkempt. Stupid."

"That's already a compliment coming from him. He hasn't said anything last year." Present Mic commented as the armored woman next to him hummed in response.

Aizawa then noticed from the corner of his eye that Nemuri, was watching footage of one candidate specifically on her tablet. She seemed oddly worried and anxious with the examinee she was seeing. She was also seated at the far end of everyone's seats.

He felt a bit suspicious at that. Yet he surmised that it wasn't at all that much of a mystery to solve. He then proceeded to swipe left and coincidentally a few screens flashed the exploits of a redhead girl swinging and maneuvering around the city-blocks with speed and accurate use of her quirk.

"Wow… she's really good with that. Though her quirk looks less than desired with its uses, I admire how creative she is with how she uses it." Space 13 commented.

"What's that crackling red energy around her, and are those horns?" Snipe asked.

"She hasn't garnered any points though. As efficient and fast she is with her quirk, she's barely made a dent at all." Cementoss commented. Nemuri then looked fearful for the girl as she stared up the screen. Nezu seemed to notice this and garnered that this was the girl she was talking about.

Aizawa on the other hand saw Nemuri at how worried she was with the girl and decided to check the girl's credentials. As he moved his tablet to see the examinee's profile. His eyes widened in surprise. Particularly at the surname.

"Midoriya." He said as Hizashi, better known as Present Mic came over his position.

"Yo Eraser what's got you looking all shocked there?"

"Mic… do you see this name?" he said. The man re-adjusted his eyewear and as he read the name he felt a tingling sensation of dread and nostalgia to form up in his chest.

"Wait… I thought-"

"That's what I was thinking as well and look at her…" he said as he pointed at Nemuri.

"Why don't we ask her?" Present Mic whispered. He nodded in agreement, only to be stopped when the doors to the monitoring room were opened and out came All Might with retired former teacher of UA as well as his assistant.

Aizawa started to question what was going on as he saw that All Might was talking to Nemuri and they were both viewing this specific girl again whilst everyone surveyed that other examinees. Aizawa then grew doubly curious and opened to see what the girl's profile had more in store for him.

He looked at the quirk section and saw that the girl's quirk was labeled as…

_Unspecified._

* * *

"Wow look at all of them! They're more awesome than us when we took the exam." Nejire said as she gawked at the screens. The 'seminar' session was moved to another room where they were allowed to watch and survey the examinees with written notes to study with. Momo in particular was amazed and kept on writing various things about what she could learn with this experience.

Their handlers, the three third year students were watching while also commentating on what was going on. After the small alteration half an hour ago, All Might and Ms. Midnight had escorted them to this room before the practical exam started. They also announced that a special study session in review of the examinees was going to be held with another group of teachers to take over them later. They left the three in charge as her and the glum boy were left with them.

Momo was actually excited as she and the two other third years had been discussing non-stop with the candidates they watched. They were all amazed, awed, happy, and cheerful for some of them. Hoping that they would pass altogether.

Momo especially as she saw a lot of potential people that she could hang along with.

Her companion in this small gathering however watched with a silent eye. He never even started to take notes. He simply watched in boredom and disinterest.

"Wow did you see that explosive kid? He's racking up points for every few seconds." Nejire commented again as the blonde boy who Momo found to be named as Mirio smiled.

"I can see that, but he seems a bit too happy and rough with how he handles things. What about you soon to be first-year, who's your fancy?" Mirio asked as he turned to Momo.

"Oh… I think the girl with the blue hair seems interesting. She could create machine-like devices and gadgets from her through what seems to be phase matter material. I could relate to her with how my creation quirk works. She isn't doing bad with how she approaches things too." Momo said in an analytic fashion as one of the screens showed the girl breaking down a two-pointer with her jet boot construct.

"I agree, she seems cool! Though the soundwave girl and the one with the knife looked pretty awesome too." Nejire replied.

"You shouldn't pick favorites… even that girl with the enlarging hands looks useful. As well as that vine girl whose quickly ranking up points as she catches up." Tamaki said in the corner of the room as he watched the screens.

"True, as good as these guys are I'm not going to settle with one person. They're all amazing in their own right. Even that purple-ball throwing kid seems good with what he's doing." Mirio said with a cheerful grin.

Momo grinned to herself. She agreed to that mindset entirely.

Then she looked at her companion, and surprisingly instead of being disinterested… she saw him watching in surprise at one screen. Showing a redhead girl swinging across the battlefield with remarkable speeds as black whip-like tendrils propelled her. She seemed to have horns as well, the kind that was crackling in red energy.

Momo started to wonder who the girl was and surprisingly she looked at the screen. She seemed to have not yet made any progress nor points for herself.

She started to question why the fellow recommended student seemed to be interested at her appearance in the exam.

* * *

"UGGHHHH! Why can't I find a single target to get points with?" Izumi angrily said as she stopped atop a rooftop. It had been so long now and no progress was made with the minutes she wasted passing and maneuvering around the testing zone. Anxiety was biting the back of her head now.

Her emotions and feelings were all going berserk.

She trained for ten months. A whole ten months and it seemed it like it was all wasted because she was neither too fast nor efficient to garner any points. Even Ochako had gotten some targets down. Her? None.

She started to worry for herself as seconds passed. The fear of failure was beginning to take hold on her. It was now breaking apart the sanity left in her emotions. All the people that helped her to reach this moment was going to be disappointed with her.

She knew it.

"DAMN IT! I-I can't give up." She told herself. Giving up would worsen this debacle. She needed to focus again and stick with hope. Hope that she could at least get enough points to pass. She calmed herself with a deep breath and looked around.

There were still targets to kill, and she needed to move fast.

As she was about to fire another line of Black Whip to land herself on the ground…

The city and the building she was in shook. Like an earthquake had just manifested under everything. A siren and warning was then broadcasted around the entire testing zone. Announcing the arrivals of the hulking and large Zero Pointers.

They towered over the buildings as they emerged from the ground. Izumi had not seen such a large thing in person. While she did see Mt. Lady in her full height, these machines were almost larger than her. Izumi's eyes widened as she saw how the hulking metal beasts moved across the city. With her vantage point, it seemed like giant kaiju-like monstrosities were terrorizing the makeshift city.

Even she was intimidated along the dozens upon dozens of fellow examinees whom ran away from the ensuing chaos. This hardened the playing field significantly and as Izumi observed, it seemed like even the smaller three-pointers to one-pointers were also being crushed under the behemoths' tracks.

Leaving more of a handicap on her situation.

She then stood up, looking more vigilant and ready as ever as she was going into the madness. As she was about to scale into the chaos, her amplified senses (courtesy of the mask) heard a cry of help. Not refusing to withheld the call, Izumi foregone her initial attempt and high-tailed her position. Lashing Black Whip upon a large antennae and propelling her forwards to the cry for help.

A heated debate within her started to ask herself whether she would pursue this, however she wanted herself to be a hero like All Might would save anybody that needed help. Neglecting that ideology would be neglecting her own dream. With a bit of reluctance, she decided to pursue the call.

She then saw that an exhausted girl her age with a hand-enlarging quirk that was being surrounded by three-pointers with the foreboding and nearby Zero-Pointer about to crush her. Izumi steeled herself as she launched herself towards the girl and grabbed hold of her with Black Whip just in time before the Zero Pointer crushed the other machines under their weight.

Thankfully, Black Whip seemed to have innate strength within them, allowing Izumi to grab, pull, and use Black Whip against objects or surfaces that were twice her or more than her own weight.

Carefully propelling herself and the girl without the drawback of whiplash, she positioned herself towards a nearby rooftop and placed the girl as gently and quick on the solid floor. She withdrew her quirk from her as she turned on her vision mode. Seeing more examinees needing help.

"Thanks…" the orange-haired girl said.

"No problem." Izumi said simply as she launched herself yet again. Leaving the girl in astonishment. Izumi then went on a spree of saving other examinees against places and situations that were in the way of the zero-pointers. Most had been grateful while some were angry and displeased at her, saying that they got the situation under their control. Izumi didn't mind and continued her job, not even minding that she was still no accumulating any points. The sense of saving someone's life in danger overpowered her sense of trying to pass the exam at that very moment.

As she went through city blocks with relative speed she then stumbled upon a group of examinees that were about to be cornered by two Zero Pointers boxing them on both street ends. There was no way out unless they hide inside of the buildings. Yet some of them looked confused while others tried to use their quirks against the hulking machines. They were all either distracted by the targets they were fighting in that area as well as confused as to where to go. Not even noticing yet that they were about to be boxed in. Izumi gritted her teeth and lashed Black Whip upon two surfaces, with a quick maneuver she could grab all eleven targets down there fast enough to stave them away from harm and move them to a safer place. She was going to use both surfaces she latched on to in order to slingshot herself with enough speed to propel her downwards. She then moved her head enough to lessen the impact of whiplash.

She made her descent when the two Zero Pointers announced their presence.

**FWAP!**

She zoomed in on her first target, grabbing them with enough speed and flexibility to maneuver herself around the battlefield. She produced more whips around her arm and torso to accommodate all fellow examinees she needed to grab.

As she finally grabbed on to a tomboyish-looking girl with jacks for earlobes, she propelled herself in the air to land them all safely upon a nearby rooftop. They all landed as Izumi perched herself on the side of the building. Grabbing Black Whip upon a steel post as she hung herself while perching.

"Is everyone alright?"

"HELLLPPP!" someone screamed. Izumi then snapped her neck with a fast turn as she looked below that she managed to miss one person on the ground. She was surrounded by broken machines and rocks and Izumi recognized her as being Uraraka Ochacko. She was in major distress as some vomit was on the edge of her lips. She seemed to have overused her quirk.

Izumi then saw that the two Zero pointers were going to crush her where she laid and she needed to quickly extract her there in time before she was crushed. Before she could propel herself to the ground, the tomboyish girl ran to her.

"WAIT! Where are you going?"

"I need to save her. Make sure everyone's safe!" Izumi shouted as she propelled herself before the girl could even argue against her with the decision. She then landed next to Uraraka as quick as she launched herself towards her.

"Izumi!"

'I'll get you out of here. A-Are you hurt in any way Uraraka?" Izumi asked as she tried to lift the rocks and debris surrounding her friend. The girl seemed a bit dazed but otherwise fine.

"M-My leg is pinned down. I can't take it out." She replied. Izumi then saw that both Zero Pointers were closing in, so she wrapped Black Whip across the heaviest boulder that pinned Uraraka's feet down. She then tried to pry it out, only to discover that despite the strength that Black Whip possessed, she could not move the boulder away.

"It's too heavy! C-Can you use your quirk to make it easier to lift?" Izumi asked.

"I-I can b-but I'm too dizzy to use it." Uraraka said in fear. Her vision blacking out slowly.

"DAMN IT!" she cursed and Izumi looked at both hulking behemoths that were about to crush them. She was running out of ideas. Pulling Ochacko forcefully out of here could damage her leg with the sudden force exerted. She didn't want that to happen. She couldn't just leave her here too. She looked around to think of an idea to pull off.

_Think damn it! what can I do to- Oh…_

Izumi observed the crackling red energy that circled her body and she recalled the slime villain incident. With that much power output and the size of the behemoths surrounding them, she played a gamble that it was enough to short-circuit both robots to shut down forcefully.

But… it had to be with enough power that she could force out and she knew the cost of what that power could do.

She looked at her hand and clenched it into a fist. She needed to do this.

"Izumi? What are you doing?" Uraraka said. The redhead then propelled herself atop the nearby building in front of Uraraka's position with her quirk and stood atop. She then aimed her hands at both behemoths at their direction.

She then prayed that this was worth it… no this was worth it. To save lives, a bit of risk was needed.

She then lashed out as much of her quirk to latch upon the surfaces of both machines. Completely covering a bit of their torsos as she wrapped more and more of Black Whip upon them both. The black tendrils appeared out of her torso, arms, and some on her legs as she went beyond with how much she could control the energy-constructs. It began to burn painfully on her skin as she produced more and more lines of Black Whip upon the behemoths.

She stopped when she figured it was enough. She then breathed heavily and focused all her energy to conduct themselves along the lines of Whips she created.

Her headband and hair glowed brightly in dark red as powerful surges od red lightning began to manifest around her. The surges were violent enough that everyone nearby or close saw the flurry of energy shoot up into the sky. Lighting the tame midday scenery with nightmarish red lightning.

Izumi then focused to drive all the energy on her lines of Black Whip.

They funneled in light speed along the conductive lines as she focused harder. Not noticing that glowing veins of red tears began to spread across her skin. She didn't even notice that small crackles of green energy were present as well.

As the intensified surges continued, the behemoths slowed down but had no sigh of stopping. Even with the amount of energy she was lashing out was not enough. Izumi then let her instincts to take control. While also not noticing another facet to the event that was happening.

Which was that her eyes glowed in such a bright red while her skin turned crimson as well. The veiny visages spreading along her skin while it happened. Transforming her partially, with her teeth starting to protrude into something akin to fangs.

The Surge of Red Lightning shot up higher into the sky and now everyone saw the lightning storm even in the distance. Izumi then bellowed a scream that was near-demonic in tone.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Her instincts took her to something else and all of those who observed had their jaws drop in shock and awe as Izumi somehow propelled herself into the air in a giant leap, carrying both machines into her grasp without noticeable strain…

And throwing them upwards into the sky with such indiscernible height.

**BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!**

A thunderclap of explosions erupted when the two zero pointers seemingly detonated high above the atmosphere. Garnering the attention of everyone who watched as the beautiful yet scary mosaic of the sky darkening partially from the explosions was seen. Izumi's red lightning which was coupled with the scenery immediately vanished in less than a second, like a candle blown off by a powerful gust of wind.

She then fell towards the ground seemingly lifeless. Much to the shock of everyone who witnessed it.

* * *

Momo was speechless. As well as the other companions she had in the room with her. Even the third years could not utter a single word. It was silence.

Complete silence.

They could simply just not believe what they just saw. Yet it was real.

Shoto Todoroki, who recalled Izumi from seeing her in the screens was himself shocked. The friendly, cheerful, meek, and shy girl that helped her in the bookstore months ago…

Was this powerful.

He then started to question who Izumi was, as well as what exactly happened on that very moment that shook the core of all who witnessed it.

He just couldn't picture Izumi being the one to cause all of this.

No one did.

* * *

"W-What… just happened?" Shota Aizawa said. He was holding still the file of Izumi on his tablet. The word _unspecified _on the description of what her quirk was now held a new deep and large meaning within the mystery that it held. Everyone inside the room was flabbergasted and deeply scorn in shock at what happened. Even those who knew about Izumi, the likes of All Might, Nemuri, Kaguya, and Gran Torino were equally as surprised as they were.

Even the mostly cheerful and calm Principal Nezu looked intimidated.

"Everyone just saw that right? It wasn't just me?" Present Mic sheepishly said.

No one answered him, as the answer was obvious enough.

"I… I didn't know that this was the extent of her power…" Nemuri said in worry. All eyes went to her, even Aizawa who looked like he demanded answers. Space 13 managed to beat him to it.

"Midnight… do you know this child?"

"Y-Yes… her name is Izumi. Izumi Midoriya."

Nezu then stood up.

"I think it's about time we hold the meeting, with the girl as our prime subject of interest." He proclaimed. The staff were about to ask more questions when All Might, along with his old teacher stepped forward. Nemuri then nodded at Nezu to get Inko inside the campus. It was time for the meeting, the meeting ten months in the making.

"That girl… is the subject in question that we all need to talk about." All of those which were present turned their eyes to the speaker. It was All Might himself. Aizawa then noticed that Nemuri wasn't there in the room and that the principal, Nezu seemed to be aware of what was happening.

"Why do we need to talk about her exactly?" the pro hero Snipe said.

All Might bared a serious expression on his face.

"Because that girl unknowingly holds the fate of the world on her shoulders."

With those ominous words, the dye was cast.

And mere mortals have laid their eyes upon the Goddess…

END OF CHAPTER 9

* * *

**AN: After this crazy chapter, I hope you continue to read for what happens next... oh and I hope you guys liked it. I'm quite happy with how this turned out.**

**PM me for a reviews or questions that need clarifications...**

**Goodbye for now :3**

**NEXT CHAPTER: REVELATION- The UA staff are informed of Izumi's condition, ultimately leading into a clash of debates that leaves the girl in a decision that may change the course of her life. Reunions are made with people that hate each other as more and more questions along with answers emerge from the chaos, with the mystery of Agony's Embrace and those who yearn for it thickens...**

**SideStory #6 coming soon!**


	16. SideStory 6: Aftermath

SideStory #6

"Aftermath"

"Of all the people to possibly visit me in the infirmary… it had to be you huh?" Izumi said with a small teasing grin towards a supposedly emotionless boy that she had met many months ago. The session she went through inside the infirmary wasn't actually that bad, and while she did lose a lot of blood, it wasn't as intense nor as much as her older attempts. It was still bad however, but thankfully this time she didn't faint nor lose consciousness. The Pro Hero which acted also as a nurse in UA treated her pretty well, she was also quite thrilled that the old lady was Recovery Girl. Even with the effects of the old lady's quirk, she still needed blood transfusion, and luckily her mother had come just in time to administer it. Her mother had quickly left after that, saying that Nemuri needed her for something important. She was okay with that as she and her mother along with her aunt had agreed to go home together later that day.

This also meant that with her aunt's permission, she was allowed to stay in UA until it was time to go home. She was excited at the prospect of it. While also a bit downtrodden that even though she managed to save a few people, she still recalled that she did not gain nor collect any points. This in turn robbed her of her mostly cheerful mood until someone came on the door to visit her.

That visitor was the boy that she met all those months ago.

"How are you doing?" he asked. His tone in itself made Izumi question if he was really concerned for what happened to her, or if he really cared at all. Still, having him here surprised her immensely. She did not expect the boy to be the first out of her family and friends to visit her.

"I'm fine… got a little sketchy there in the exam but I'm fine." She mused.

"You know; those Zero Pointers wouldn't have hurt any students right? There was no need for you to go all out." The boy said. As he said this, Izumi felt a punch in her senses. Of course, it was a mock battle, a simulation. No one would be gravely injured...

_Stupid… _she grimaced herself internally. What was done is done however and she needed to accept that. Even what could possibly be a grade short of passing.

"Y-Yeah… got a bit overboard didn't I?"

"You sure did. That show you made, left quite an impression on everyone from what I heard. Not just in the room I was in, but from the other examinees as well." he said, with a bit of levity in his tone.

"Y-You saw that?"

"Never took my eyes off the screen actually. Much like everyone else in the room I was in." he said in continuation. His tone a bit curious, but not much was different from how he usually said things.

"I don't really remember much about what happened, Recovery Girl couldn't tell me and my mom was clueless too. Did… did I do something-"

"You took two hulking pieces of machinery, threw them into the sky with no visible effort and made them explode there."

The way he said the sentence was borderline shocking and disturbing for Izumi. Even she didn't fathom that she did those things, yet she did remember that the moment she fell to the ground and caught by Ochako, she did see the sky darken in smoke, with none of the Zero Pointers visible near her.

She assumed she did something, but not to that extent. Opening her hands and staring at them with the various cuts and bruises made by overusing Black Whip, she wondered if that was because of her, or if 'One for All' had something to do with it.

Maybe both.

Still, the thought scared her to no avail. Having this much power… scared her. Even if it was hers. All those months ago, she had a good grip with how her quirk worked, and with that she thought that she had mastered a good deal with it. She even made approximations of how much strength and use her quirk had in her journals.

Clearly there was more to this than expected… or maybe 'One for All' was-

"You're muttering to yourself. I could hear you even from where I'm standing." The boy suddenly said. Waking Izumi out of her usual brainstorming retinue. A look of embarrassment was strewn on her face.

"S-Sorry… it's just when I'm flustered or anxious I kinda use that as a coping mechanism."

The boy nodded and he walked to the nearest chair, took it and sat in front of her. The distance was still great between them, but it seemed like he had something to say to her about her condition. Like he knew how she felt on that very spot she was in right now.

At least that's what she expected from him.

"Are y-you just going to sit there… and stare at me?" she asked with an awkward smile.

He huffed. His expression unchanged.

"No. I was just considering what to say to you."

"O-Okay… y-you don't need to concern yourself about me. Not like you know what it feels to be in my place after all…" Izumi said with a courteous and admitting smile. It wasn't a good smile, but it felt appropriate.

"I do know actually…" he said.

"Huh?"

"I know what it's like to have such a quirk. For people to be scared and terrified with how powerful you are and how it affects those around you." There was weight in his words as he said this, like a million possible reasons and deeper painful memories manifested in just two sentences. She could almost feel sorry for him and the way how he lightly scratched the scar on his face, she knew that his words were true. She respected that.

"T-Thanks. For sharing that." As she said this, he nodded in response. Although his demeanor was the same, Izumi could feel that between those short interactions, he was beginning to loosen up a bit with how he acted towards her.

"Your name is Izumi correct?" she beamed a bit when he recalled her name, even if it was more than ten months ago. The last interaction they shared, which was the Memorial Fair did not go as well as it went. Yet now, it seemed like they were slowly easing in with each other, not in a completely friendly sense yet but getting there in time.

"I'm surprised you remember my name. Could've sworn you disapproved of seeing me last time."

He shrugged.

"My sister forced me to remember you. She even made me promise to 'be respectful' towards you should we meet again."

"Aww… that's cute. Tell your sister I'm grateful." She teased. He responded the opposite of what she thought. His already deadpan frown further dropped at her suggestion. Making her feel a bit bad that she did. The conversation was already awkward to begin with.

"Do I look like I enjoyed that?" he asked.

"N-No… based on how grumpy you look; I don't think it's that hard to see."

"Good."

"Y-Yeah…"

Izumi sighed to herself, this conversation was going nowhere fast. She liked that he was here and was flattered that he took the effort to see her but the conversation jumped from being eventful, and back to the usual expressionless tone this guy had.

He then stood up and returned the chair.

"Look, I only came here to ask a question. It's up to you entirely if you want to answer it or not. Because after that little show you made, it's very likely that we'll be classmates or at the very least, schoolmates." Izumi turned all her attention towards him in a puzzled manner.

"I-I don't know if I'll even pass… I got zero points in the practical."

"Oh I'm sure you will. I don't believe they'll let you go that simply with that stunt you pulled." He assured. His tone made me Izumi question if he was thrilled by that prospect or not. Yet that small little assurance for as weird as it sounded gave her a bit of hope.

Maybe she could pass. She smiled a bit at him.

"What's your question then?" she asked.

"What is it with that Overpowered quirk of yours?" he said with all seriousness in his tone. Izumi pursed her lips, trying to think of how best to explain it to him. But with how things went today, she was unsure if her information as accurate. Right now, she began to ask why her quirk was like this in the first place, as she knew that her mother's was a form of telekinesis, a strong one at that. Yet her father's, she knew next to nothing about.

She now began to question what her true origins were and why her mother seemingly kept most of that information close to her heart. Not even telling anyone at all nor sharing those secrets. It made her a bit suspicious with her mother yet again. Their relationship had in fact healed for the most part, but there was still very much so a section of it that needed to be repaired.

With the mysteries of her quirk deepening, she mused to ask her later at home. Maybe even confront her when the time came.

"Hey… I asked you a question." The boy said with a bit impatience in his voice.

"Sorry… the best answer I could give you is, I'm not really sure myself. I only got this quirk last year and while I thought I have a good grasp of how it functions. I'm surprised yet again with how I managed to do things in the practical."

Or maybe it was because of 'One for All', which was the main theory she needed to investigate, and the one detail that he can't disclose to him. As it was All Might's secret.

"You only got it last year? How is that even possible?"

"Don't ask me. I don't really know myself."

"Hmph… you're pretty strange Izumi."

"Can't say I don't think of you the same Shoto." Izumi teased back to alleviate the seriousness. He was surprised that she remembers his name back in the fair, he didn't even introduce himself it was his sister that did so.

"Alright, I got what I needed. See you in class I think." He said as he started to walk to the door. Almost like he was now bored of this conversation and wished to exit it. Izumi smirked. She couldn't judge how the boy acted, as she herself was a loner in her own way back in the day. She smirked at him since it reminded her a bit of herself…

He closed the door behind him and left Izumi to her thoughts. Their interaction this time was better than last time, but it did leave much to be desired.

"See you…" she whispered to herself. Her tone that of wishful thinking. Wishful thinking that she could pass. She hugged herself after she was left in the room alone. Even though she desired to take a walk in the school grounds, it seemed like her mental anxieties beat her to it.

She was about to lay down on the bed she was sitting in when a knock on the door was heard. A series of knocks to be precise. Furrowing her brow at the commotion, she gently stood up from where she lay and slowly walked to the door. Her legs were shaking a bit still, her body still recovering from the shock and loss of blood. Thankfully, she still managed to maintain her equilibrium and balance with each step. As she reached the door, she saw the window on it and was surprised to see a multitude of people, examinees her age that were waiting to see her.

Her eyes widened as they all smiled and waved at her.

She awkwardly smiled back and opened the door. Thankfully, one of the people that were on the door was Uraraka Ochacko who as soon as she opened it, she was tackled into a hug that made her trip on the floor.

"Ow." Izumi said.

"I'm so sorry! A-Are you alright? Are you still bleeding? Are you hurt still-"

"I'm fine Uraraka… I'm fine. Just a bit weak but fine." Izumi replied, trying to re-assure the zero gravity girl that she was alright. They giggled at each other as Izumi saw who the others were.

"Glad you're alright. I could've sworn I told you to stop." The tomboyish girl said with the earphone jacks replacing her earlobes. She grinned at her as the other girl, one with orange hair who Izumi recalled as the one with the big hands looked relieved to see her okay.

"Thanks as well for getting me out of that situation. I never saw what you did entirely but I got a glimpse of it. Thank God you're alright."

Both girls then pulled her up as Ochako got off her. Izumi then smiled at them and saw that one more person, a certain glasses-wearing boy was also with them. He looked relieved as well to see her alright after everything that happened.

As they got up, he cleared his throat. Allowing everyone to say silent so that he could speak.

"I was wrong about you… you may not have shown proper behavior throughout the course of this exam, but at the very least you were dauntless and brave to save your co-examinees even at the expense of your own safety. I respect that." He said as he offered his hand.

Izumi looked at it and nodded, shaking it in good will.

"Thanks."

"Are you flirting with him nerd?" the tomboyish-looking girl said to the both of them after they withdrew their hands. Instantly, the glasses-wearing boy cried in outrage while the rest of them including Izumi laughed.

"Thanks for coming by guys, this means a lot to me." Izumi said to them. They all smiled at her and after that Izumi confidently thought that with the new people she got along with, it meant new friends as a result. Maybe today wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

She managed to chat with her new companions and got along well with them as the hour passed.

However, one thought managed to tug on her senses. Out of all the people that came today, neither Sylvianor Himiko came to see if she was alright. Himiko most of all was missing, making Izumi wonder where she could have been.

* * *

"Have you been successful in your mission Io?" Nemain said, she was wearing casual clothes today as they walked by on the sidewalk together with Io. Her sister-in-arms looked quite pleased today, her blue hair ruffling in the wind as the exam was finished.

She got what she needed and she was thrilled as a result.

She then made a series of hand gestures and symbols to prove her point towards her chaperone. Nemain smiled, easily understanding what she meant as they walked together. They stopped by on the nearest bus stop, waiting for the next ride.

"I think you will pass without a doubt my friend. You are leagues beyond those pestilent children. For now, I think now we should wait for what happens next. We are only here to observe after all… observe and report back."

Io nodded. They then noticed that a woman whom was looking at her phone wearing a trench coat came to bus stop as well. she was engrossed in her phone as her earphones was up. She stood by the side away from them thankfully, and Nemain continued to talk.

"Did you make contact with the subject of interest?"

Io nods, suddenly she sees the woman next to them dropping her phone. A level of unease was felt by the blue-haired girl, but it seemed like Nemain didn't notice it. She looked at the woman, she never got her attention but it looked like she got her phone back.

Suddenly, they exchanged glances. The woman waved at her with a small smile as she went back to her business. Io narrowed her eyes, but felt that maybe she was paranoid.

"My friend, I asked you a question." Nemain said, putting her focus back.

Io nodded as the bus finally arrived and they rode it together. The both of them still communicating about today's events.

They didn't even realize that the woman who was with them at the bus stop vanished. Ultimately walking away from view no the nearest alleyway. Then the woman's form distorted, turning what seemed to be a gelatinous substance that melted away everything in her body with each step. Even what remained of her face was gone and the substance oozed away.

Revealing a naked Himiko Toga with a less than pleased look. She stopped on the nearest dumpster and opened it. Showing a woman who seemed to be unconscious. Himiko stared at her and thought about what she heard.

She then took a knife from the dumpster which she kept earlier and made a small slit on her thumb. Allowing it to bleed as she spread the bodily fluid on the cold surface of the knife.

Her eyes were greedy with intent.

Her usually smiling face was replaced by a look of bloodlust.

"Exchange Student huh?"

* * *

Somewhere…

A man was watching carefully on various screens that were in front of him to view. Various medical apparatuses were strapped on his body as he re-reviewed footage and notes about a certain topic that he wished to investigate further. He hummed in a sort of playful manner as he re-examined each material he had in hand.

He then felt what seemed to be a presence of something unknown manifesting out of thin air behind him. The purplish-looking smoke coupled with what seemed to be an echoing voice was heard. The man did not anticipate the random visit, but he welcomed it regardless.

Good news came when such an event rose.

"I have found her." The metallic, echoing voice said, one that belonged to a primordial purple mist that had a suit and tie for wear.

"You found her you say? Tell me more then…"

"She took the entrance exam of UA."

"Did she now? That's interesting." He said as the man continued to study the various material he had on the screens. Each screen suddenly got replaced by an image of a girl with red hair, fighting off a slime villain. Red lightning surrounding her.

He then made an imaginary gesture of reaching out to the girl and clenching his fist as if to grab her. The mist-like figure behind him seemed to notice this small action.

"I have also seen evidence… that All Might is within the vicinity of the school. Turns out the rumor going on that he will finally teach at UA is true"

The name made the man in the seat flinch, but didn't care afterwards.

"Kurogiri… I think it's time to teach my student a lesson. Give the order to him to proceed."

"At this stage? Is it wise?"

"That is correct, because killing two birds with one stone is a good plan as any..."

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 10


	17. X Revelation

**AN: Sorry this took a bit longer... needed to make sure this was done right.**

* * *

X. Revelation

It was odd walking in the halls of the most prestigious and well-known school of the country. Tall ceilings to white-colored halls which changed in color with every room or center where she walked by. Everything was silent at that hour, only a few maintenance staff or some campus guards patrolled in the empty halls. Izumi was told earlier by her aunt that the majority of the staff had an important meeting after the exam. It seemed plausible given the state the school was in.

Most of her fellow examinees have gone home already. At first, some were willing to do the tour with her, namely that of Kyouka and Ochako whom stuck with her for a bit. However, they needed to go home as well so she was left with herself at the current time. It was certainly a different experience walking the halls of this school. Normally she would imagine it differently with various people and students walking on and about. But the experience was pleasant. It was quiet.

One of the things that Izumi liked when she was alone. Calm, solace-filled, silence.

The only sound was her footsteps walking along the tiled floors. Windows outside illuminating the hallways with various trees providing a necessary green to the otherwise currently uneventful place. She looked over the empty halls with wonder and amazement, hoping that she could pass the entrance exam. Hoping that this could be her school to learn to be a hero. She smiled at that thought, not letting the anxiety and fear of failure get to her. As her newly acquainted friends taught her, it was far better to think more about positive things rather than negative ones.

She sighed in relief.

She did accomplish one of the key things she wanted to do for herself in the exam. Which was to save people. Even if it was mostly an embarrassing mistake that she noted to never repeat again. Shoto was right about the Zero Pointers, they wouldn't have hurt actual students like her. UA wasn't that heartless when it came to training youngsters her age. Unfortunately, she managed to exert so much effort that she came close again to falling unconscious because of blood loss. It wasn't as bad as last time, but it was still considerable enough that both Recovery Girl and her mother berated her for trying what she did again. Her mother most of all, who looked far worried for what happened, and that she wasn't there to stop her.

It did make her wonder why her mother made a big deal out of this, not like she hadn't seen it before. Yet, it made her question if she knew something about her quirk as well as the mystery of the father she never knew. The original owner of the surname, Midoriya.

As she thought about this mystery, she stumbled upon a long hallway, a hallway that ended back to the main hall of the building she was in. Windows to the outside were decorated on her left, while the sealed off rooms of unused laboratories, classrooms, or the likes similar to that decorated her right.

She was looking around as she walked… taking in the scenery like usual.

That is, until an odd feeling came to her senses. A strange sensation that overrode her current line of thought. Her heart started to beat faster.

Each thump made it feel like her life was in jeopardy and it increased as seconds passed.

Izumi wondered why she was feeling this way as she started to sweat. Suddenly, her senses increased tenfold. Like the time where she heard the first call for help in the exam. She was aware that the reason she felt that way was because of the headband which naturally increased her focus and senses significantly. Only this time, she was wearing no headband and her quirk was seemingly acting like this without it.

A haze began to form in her current thoughts. She felt a bit dizzy and while it wasn't as bad when she discharged some of the blood with each use of her quirk, it was starting to get prevalent. She carefully leaned herself on the nearest wall and tried to calm herself.

The sensory overload began to manifest bit by bit.

She could hear her heart racing, the smallest of sounds, the faintest of smells and the smallest of details were now a bit clearer to her.

She took a deep breath and tried to ease her heart rate. Thankfully, it was slowing down a bit and as she opened and closed her eyes her problem had vanished. As bizarre and sudden as it came to be. She made herself stand upright in a better sense right now in the middle of the halls.

As she recollected herself, she looked at the window left of her. It was normal, at least until she saw her reflection faintly on the glass. A chill went up her spine.

Because what she was looking at was not her. It was a red entity whose body and presence was a pale imitation of herself. It had horns protruding from its head and its eyes was fixed fully on her. Blood Red eyes that were glowing menacingly. Izumi swallowed a lump of saliva in her throat.

Her heart started to race again when a faint memory of a past nightmare came back to her.

The nostalgia and the way how her arm's individual hairs stood up was not a good sign.

Izumi had her heart sink deep within feelings of fear. As if the world around her which was peaceful suddenly turned cold… dark, and indescribably heavy to all her senses.

Like a foreign intruder had hijacked her psyche. It didn't move. It simply stared on where she was. Izumi tried to inch away, only to observe that the entity did the same.

**DRIP.**

The entity's mouth started to move. It was twitching… slowly and surely…

**DRIP. DRIP.**

Izumi then stood in a complete frozen and shocked state that she was unable to move.

The entity with its razor-sharp teeth managed to make a spine-tingling smile that was disturbing and horrible to look at. It stood there with its wide serrated teeth, as if looking at her as prey item.

**DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.**

Izumi stepped back and blinked. She didn't know how long it was that she stayed in a paralyzed state. A paralyzed state of fear. the very moment she blinked, her normal reflection was on the glass.

Leaving no traces of the entity that was on it.

"A-Am I getting crazy?" she asked herself.

**DRIP.**

Izumi then noticed under her feet, was a small puddle of blood. She narrowed her eyes and wondered where it came from, only to finally notice and feel that her nose was dripping slightly with the crimson fluid. She took out her handkerchief and began to slowly wipe and cover her nose from the blood that was seeping out.

She also leaned on the floor to wipe the small puddle away. Not wanting to insult and make it harder for the maintenance staff that was cleaning the campus grounds. After wiping the small excess, she put the piece of cloth back and stood up.

As soon as she did, she saw what seemed to be a woman wearing a hero suit walking down the corner into the next hallway. She had a white cape on over her dark gray suit. Her hair was tied up in the back with some of the strands loose at her sides. She walked in a calm stride as she disappeared down the hallway.

Izumi wondered who it was, based on the look of her suit, she looked to be a pro hero. Maybe a teacher. But why would a teacher be walking along the halls of UA when she was told everyone was at a staff meeting?

Izumi's curiousness overruled her other traits, and she slowly followed the woman as she hurried up to catch her. Moving along the turn into another hallway just like where the woman had gone to, she then saw her turn another right at the end of the hall she was in.

For a woman who was walking calmly, her speed was surprising.

Izumi managed to double up and finally arrived at the point where she turned. Izumi looked at both hallways… she was not there. No one was there. As she looked around, she managed to see that this new hall she turned to was probably the school's hall of fame.

She quickly marveled at the framed pictures of various students. Names of old that she knew, some older than her, and some more recent than others. She smiled as she saw each of the faces in front of her.

Izumi then wondered where All Might's picture was, since as she could recall he did graduate in this school. As she looked around, a chill on her spine manifested. Yet this one was not of a negative kind, but something comforting and familiar.

_**Always the dramatic one… isn't he?**_

The voice reverberated on Izumi's head. It didn't seem like it came from someone's voice, yet a voice that somehow came from her head. Like it was speaking to her directly.

Izumi turned and saw at the left portion of the hall of fame was the woman she was following. She was in the middle of a picture frame, showing none other than All Might himself in his younger years.

She stared up with arms crossed on her chest. A smile was on her face.

A proud smile. Akin to a mother who looks at her child.

Izumi was about to say something when the woman suddenly spoke.

_**I always looked on him like he was the son I never had… I can see why he sees the same in you.**_

Izumi stopped in her tracks, wondering what the woman said to her. As she looked at her standing there in all her glory, Izumi felt the hairs on her back stand still. A cold sensation was draped on her right shoulder. This wasn't comforting this time. The presence of something sinister returned, yet the woman she was looking at remained in her vision. Standing still and staring at the picture.

"Tsk."

Digits began to move in her shoulder, what seemed to be long protruding claws were now draped on where the cold sensation once was. Slowly they moved into position and grabbed her shoulder tight.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk."

Izumi didn't move her head towards that direction, only an insane person would do that. Yet the temptation was doubling up in her. Inducing a feeling of helplessness.

She could feel something leaning on her shoulder with malicious intent.

Something innate, something even she could not comprehend. It moved closer towards her other shoulder and placed its sharpened digits upon her. Izumi was shivering in fear.

What was this she asked. Why was she experiencing this?

She closed her eyes and wished for everything to go away. Only to open them and to see what lay before her.

"AAAAAGGHHH!" she screamed.

She saw her arms replaced with those sharpened digits, she could feel horns (real horns) on her head and her skin was a dark shade of red. Her teeth filed into serrated fangs. The horror seeped into her as she stumbled backwards… only to feel a presence catching her from behind. Comforting hands that replaced the cold and malicious presence earlier.

_**You are special, Izumi Midoriya… and no matter what demons lay in your heart, you will always be given the choice to follow your dreams… let that guide you and you will find peace.**_

Izumi blinked.

She was alone in the halls now. She looked behind her and saw no one. She looked at her arms and herself. She even felt her skin and head and saw that she was normal.

Everything was back to normal…

Yet why did she experience all of that? What did it all mean?

* * *

Inko Midoriya stood in front of the mirror. A quiver of a smile was on her features. It was a strange feeling being in this suit again she mused. Here inside the women's room of UA, she wore her suit when she still used the guise of the villain Jade. She never thought she would wear this suit again. Trauma and fear had latched on to it ever since Aldera fourteen years ago. The only piece of her old attire that she used from time to time was the mask, and that in itself had been damaged because of her encounter in Italy. The encounter that blatantly ripped a hole in her established psyche. The encounter that ultimately changed her yet again into this person. A pathless person that was lost in her own way. The sole reason she continued to live now was because of Izumi and with renewed purpose, no thanks to being reminded of the reality of the girl's situation.

Even the suit itself was worn, torn in some places. It had not been touched ever since she discarded it after the night of the incident. Multiple reminders of the night itself remained on the suit. From the burnt marks, to the various scratches and torn places that decorated areas of the old wear. She cleaned the blood marks, blood stains, and other less than desired traces of the people that died next to her. Inko lost her smile instantly when she thought about all the dead in her wake. Not just from Aldera but from all the ones that came when she walked this path.

She thought about _him_, how he died in her arms.

Then her thoughts came upon Izumi, when the girl cried in her arms when the smoke cleared that night. She still did not know what the girl's true origins were, but she didn't care. The very moment she survived that night holding that girl next to her, she knew what the cost was and she knew where it all ended and by that knowledge Inko resigned her fate for the girl. For her daughter.

The door to the women's room creaked open. Footsteps were heard as Inko continued to stare on the apparition of herself on the glass.

"Inko… are you okay?" her friend, her only friend that stuck with her through thick and thin said.

"I'm fine. This suit... I was just surprised at how much it took to getting used to. I haven't worn this since that night Nemuri. Never thought I would again to be honest."

Nemuri walked closer to her best friend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Inko held the hand as well as they looked at each other in the mirror. Smiling.

"Do you remember that time when I accidentally paired you and Hisashi in that group activity we had in high school?" Nemuri asked, invoking a multitude of memories from both of them. Inko could remember that day almost as well as any other memory in the past. The past where everything seemed peaceful and okay.

"I hated him that day you know, kept on rambling about how lazy I was with our part of that project. I even punched him in the face because I was so pissed." Inko replied making the two of them to laugh in consolation.

"Yet you both got familiar pretty fast…" Nemuri said, her voice contemplative.

"Yeah." Inko began to shed a tear recalling Hisashi. Nemuri held her still as both of them tried to assure and comfort each other with what was to come.

"Are you ready?"

"I don't know." Inko admitted as she took one last long look on herself in the mirror.

"That's good an answer as any." Nemuri said as they began to walk each other out.

* * *

13:46 Hours, Faculty Meeting Room…

"What are we looking at exactly? This girl, as you've told us possesses a great deal of importance based on your wording." Space Thirteen said towards All Might who was quietly watching the other faculty members debate about the occurrence in the practical exam. They had not started the meeting yet, as they were waiting for an essential guest to help him, Nemuri, and Gran Torino to explain the situation to the UA Pro Heroes. Even Izumi's doctor that was with her ever since she was little was present. Dr. Shigechi had been reserved in a small corner of the room, fixing the files that were needed for the meeting they were in. Gran Torino and Nezu had begun discussing again in a separate room, clearly something about the girl's performance and negotiations that needed to be talked about. Nemuri was gone from the room, the reason being was that she left the building to invite in their special guest.

This left him alone with Kaguya who was present to deal with the other faculty members.

"How could she emit that much surge of energy in one sitting? It was almost comparable to All Might's. Heck, even the way how she effortlessly lifted those Zero Pointers made me question how the kid did that." Power Loader said in inquiry as he tried to think how the seemingly small girl was able to achieve feats like that.

"It did look like a considerable amount of drawback was inflicted on the girl. She had to be taken in by Recovery Girl with how much blood she lost." Vlad King replied.

"What I'm really curious about is why did the girl have multiple facets with her quirk? She used what looked like as energy constructs resembling blackened ropes or whips and suddenly she was able to use this red lightning while also being strong enough to lift both Zero Pointers. A detail in which I recall on hearing that they weigh at least in the excess of seven thousand tons." Snipe questioned, truth be told this was also an issue inside of everybody's minds right now.

"The Zero Pointers weigh in at about 6888 tons to be precise." Power Loader corrected.

"See? That is heavy, and I don't think a measly strength-enhancement quirk can easily lift that with no strain of whatever." Snipe added.

"We have seen heroes with quirks that allow them feats of superior strength. All Might here now is an example as well as numerous others. Even Villains such as one that ravaged Rio de Janeiro years ago was able to slightly dismantle the tectonic plate situated there." The principal, Nezu said as he and Gran Torino finally joined the room. It was met with a mixed response however, with Present Mic still in silence which was unusual for him and Eraserhead watching in with a strong glare in a corner. Holding the tablet that contained the redhead girl's file.

"Recovery Girl, how was the girl? We were told that she lost significant amounts of blood." Nezu asked. All Might and Kaguya listened in as well, because this was the first occurrence in months where Izumi had to lose that much blood to power her quirk.

"She did lose two liter's worth of blood, which is why I had to call in her mother who graciously supplied her with her own. What makes this odd however is because the child has blood-type O and her mother mysteriously has an AB blood type. Making me wonder if the two are related, but since we have no other donors that are willing to give blood, I accepted it. She is type O after all." The old woman who was known for her 'Recovery' quirk said as a diagnosis on Izumi's condition.

"Poor girl. Why would the drawback be that catastrophic? And why would she vomit blood in the first place?" Space Thirteen asked.

"The better question would be the difference in blood-types between the mother and child. It is known universally that a child's quirk can either be the quirk of one of their parents' or a combination of it. If what you're implying is true, then who is that woman?" Ectoplasm added.

"Are we dealing with something shady All Might? It seems you haven't said anything at all ever since we got here." Cementoss inquired as all eyes went to the skinny man in his loose yellow striped suit. Toshinori looked at Kaguya, of which the woman soundly shrugged and left him to explain himself.

"First off, I'd like to say that the reason we're even talking about this girl is because she is somehow related to me." He said slowly.

"So you two are related?" Present Mic, finally speaking said.

"No. It's much more complicated than that. As you remember, when I finally joined your faculty for this year's school year, I had to divulge some information about my quirk. Of which you are all aware is called 'One for All'."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Snipe said in between the conversation. The whole room was clearly perplexed and unamused of all the secrets being hidden against them.

"Well, it has to do with everything unfortunately… since young Midoriya is the child I chose as my protégé. My successor to be precise."

This made the whole room silent. Even Eraserhead softened his glare at those in front.

"Are you saying… that girl has your quirk?" Power Loader asked.

"At a simple sense. Yes."

A flurry of activity suddenly opened in between the teachers. As more questions have been thrown into the mix.

"I can see now why she was able to lift the Zero Pointers."

"How is that your quirk can be passed to that child?"

"What did you mean by having the 'fate of the world on her shoulders?"

Toshinori was overwhelmed by the constant barrage of questions. He wanted to answer them all but the whole room went into chaos. Arguments and ramblings began to fill the air until the principal stepped up.

"Everyone please observe an orderly fashion. We are professionals, please act and behave accordingly. This is a matter that is not easy to address much less talk about but we need unity and order so that we may proceed."

Eventually the questions and mayhem was snuffed out. Toshinori nodded in thanks to the principal while Gran Torino looked with a bit of subliminal messaging to infer that he gets to the point.

"Alright… I hear your questions and yes, the girl does have my quirk. Normally my quirk can be passed on to someone by means of sharing my DNA. The transfer can only be done if the user explicitly allows the chosen person to be the next inheritor of the quirk."

"Then what we saw was your quirk in action, not the girl's then?" Present Mic said as he raised his hand to say this question. As the other teachers waited for the reply, Toshinori's expression darkened.

"A part of it yes, the other part which is larger isn't."

A huge weight was dropped upon the staff.

"What do you mean?" Space Thirteen said.

"What you saw mostly was the work of the girl's own quirk, and the whole reason why I told you all about the mechanics of 'One for All' is because the girl never went through this process. Her own quirk overpowered and consumed mine, making it hers in a forced fashion. I never even knew about it until I was told of it." the tone of his voice was in admittance, as well as ominous in nature.

This aggravated the teachers present, as they couldn't simply believe that easy that All Might, the world's renowned and arguably strongest hero got his quirk forcibly stolen from his grasp like it was nothing.

"That girl… managed to rob you of your quirk?" Cementoss said in shock.

"The correct term would be 'consumed' and I assure you the girl has no ill will, nor is she even aware that she was able to take 'One for All' for herself. Only we know and as far as it goes right now, it will stay that way."

"Are you saying the girl is dangerous then?" an armored-wearing teacher who Toshinori assumed was a newly appointed faculty staff member asked after staying silent for so long.

"Yes, and it's even more apparent since we don't know how far her own abilities limits lie." Gran Torino added as everyone finally felt the shiver in their wake as they were shocked to learn that the stunt the redhead girl pulled was just the start of what she can do.

"That's insane, how can a quirk like that exist? To even be leagues beyond your own is simply absurd." Ectoplasm remarked, to which everybody agreed on.

"I used to believe the same way… unfortunately it's a reality we all need to accept." A new voice stated as all eyes went to the door of the meeting room. Where Nemuri Kayama or known as Midnight stood. She was at the door, standing in between as to stop it from closing.

"Who are the girl's parents?"

Everyone's attention went to Eraserhead or known to others as Shota Aizawa. The gravity of how he said those words felt personal and he walked closer to the front of the conversation while his gaze was transfixed fully on Nemuri.

"Aizawa…"

"I didn't ask you All Might. I asked her, because as everyone here knows… me, her, and Mic over there went to the same school. Which makes me beg the question as to why the girl's surname is Midoriya. The surname of the dear friend of ours that died to a criminal scum decades ago." Venom was laced in his words. He did not hold back with how suspicious and offended he sounded.

Present Mic was also listening in intently.

"Izumi is my niece." Nemuri proclaimed, further shocking the inhabitants in the room.

"Bullshit. Don't you dare lie to me Nemuri. You were there and you as well as I know that Hisashi never had children in the first place. Nor was he able to."

The mood thickened. It seemed personal now than normal.

"Everybody calm down. Mr. Aizawa and Ms. Kayama, I don't want to uphold my will upon you two but please stop this nonsense. We won't adhere this meeting if we let our emotions get the better of us." Nezu said in between them. Aizawa backed off but continued to glare.

Nemuri looked away.

"My question still stands, and I'm sure as hell everyone in this room wants to know." Aizawa challenged Toshinori who was at a loss for words. Inko warned her that this would happen and true enough her words bore fruit.

He sighed, hoping that with the state things are he wished that nothing bad would happen.

"Is she there Midnight?" Toshinori asked the woman, who simply nodded.

"My fellow heroes, I wish that all of you keep a cool head and an open mind. We have brought a guest to better inform you and explain to us the situation we are in." Toshinori asked with a bit of pleading in his tone.

"Who is it?" Snipe said.

"The girl's mother, Inko Midoriya." As soon as he said this, Inko walked in as everyone saw her. Suddenly tensions in the room rose up higher when both Aizawa and Present Mic stood up in outrage and shock. Particularly Aizawa who activated his quirk as quickly as he saw her.

"You even dared to use his name huh?" he said in blind rage as his scarf started to move. His eyes transfixed and glowing in sight of her. Inko had a saddened expression on her face but she remained strong against it.

"Hello…" Inko then looked at Present Mic who looked less than pleased. "… to both of you."

"Why are you here scum!" Aizawa lashed out.

"She seems familiar…" one of the teachers said.

"Hello to all of you… like what Toshinori said to you all, I am the mother of Izumi Midoriya."

"THAT'S FAR ENOUGH!" Aizawa screamed as he let his emotions take over him and he lunged at Inko much to the dismay of all of those who saw it. Nemuri and Toshinori tried to block him but Inko simply clapped her hands as his face neared her by a few inches. This caused his eyes to blink, stopping his quirk Erasure and rendering Inko's erased quirk back to normal. She then focused the scarf tangled around him and tied him with it as fast as her mind had let it. Until he opened his eyes again, he was trapped.

The display of power was enough to rattle some of the other teachers to stand up to the act.

"Who are you?" Ectoplasm said out aloud.

"All of you stay calm. She isn't the enemy here." Toshinori protectively said as he went in front of Inko. He even transformed into his powered form to do so. The woman though, wanted to face it herself so she placed an assured hand on him and stepped in front again to all of them.

She then focused her quirk to remove some of the bonds on Aizawa's body. Instantly he stood up, only to be stopped by Nemuri.

"You dare come here and say you aren't the enemy! Don't play us as fools Inko! You know better what you did!" he said out aloud. To some of them in the room it was the first time they saw Eraserhead like this, as for most of the time he was clearly the best person to hide and keep his emotions in check. For him to be rattled like this made everyone suspicious of Inko.

Present Mic came in to help restrain the angry Aizawa who never stopped laying his eyes on Inko.

She on the other hand, kept a solemn face of regret and sadness that it ended this way.

"Ms. Midoriya, you were saying?" Nezu said.

"R-Right… I-I'm the mother of Izumi as well as…"

Toshinori gave her a look that seemed to say 'it's okay if you don't do this'. She smiled bitterly and looked away from him.

"… the former villain, Jade."

* * *

**ITALY, TEN MONTHS BEFORE…**

Inko was exhausted. She had wounds all over. Bleeding, scarred and broken bones on her other arm. Yet she stood amongst the ashes. Triumphant amidst the broken remains of the room that dampened her quirk. All six women of varying powers and abilities lay all across the room. Some knocked out, some unconscious, and some barely able to stand from the actions of Inko. While she was not in the best of state in that situation, she surely towered over her opponents.

The battle wasn't easy but she managed to snag a victory regardless.

She scowled towards the last woman in the room who calmly sat still on a chair. Clapping at her victory like it was a game. She seemed far too pleased for Inko's liking and as she was going to focus on killing the woman on spot, she was met with words that stopped her from doing so.

"You really are something else, aren't you Ms. Inko? From the very beginning I always wondered why such a woman would take little Izumi into her arms. I thought you weren't capable enough even with your track record of always escaping All Might's clutches, but alas I am human and I make mistakes."

Inko didn't respond.

"Not one to spark conversation now huh?" Juno continued, Inko never responded still.

"I assume since you haven't blown my head off (as inappropriate as that sounds), I believe you want to hear the next few words that would come out of my mouth. I believe you think that all of my sentences mean something in regards to your… daughter and killing me won't bear fruit for your success in handling her." Juno said, her wordplay and thoughts with her sentence while in itself was playing with Inko, it was also pretty much true.

Juno smiles as Inko continues on not responding.

"If your silence is any indication, then I suppose my assessment is correct. While I do have ulterior motives, what I am going to say to you next is for the girl's own safety as well as for the safety of others around her. Hearing it would be your benefit."

"Keep talking." Inko finally spat out. Juno's movements suddenly went from being curious to intrigued at Inko. She walked a bit closer with her hands joined in a sort of a queenly manner. A mocking technique that Inko surmises, although based on her movements they did not seem malicious.

"You have proven to me that you are indeed strong enough to protect the girl on your own. If you have beaten my disciples, of which had their quirks empowered to a certain degree then I have my respect for you." Juno said in a slow manner, Inko was confused about it as it sounded almost genuine.

Almost.

"Which gets us to the one thing that troubles me with your handling of your daughter. You berate me for being cold and unloving to the people I have collected or experimented. Even to the disciples I have nurtured into strong individuals… yet, I can't seem to see that you don't do such things as well. Based on the tone of your delivery, the seriousness of your essence while you barged in here... you never truly loved the child at all haven't you?"

Inko went silent again. The realization was there.

"I…"

Juno smiled beneath her mask and moved closer towards Inko.

"You claim that my care will be different from yours… yet you callously put poor Izumi with the cold shoulder. I am correct aren't I in saying that?"

Inko pursed her lips. It indeed was true.

"Y-Yes…" her body weakened significantly when she said that. It felt like the shame and guilt of the fight she just won was weak in comparison to the pain and torment of the truth.

"Then we have a small problem in our hands Inko Midoriya. Or is that even your name?"

Inko didn't respond, yet she stared at Juno. Not even knowing that tears started falling from her eyes. Juno considered to move deeper into the conversation. Hoping her last gamble would suffice in changing the woman's mind.

"You see; this wasn't in the file Inko… your daughter as you proclaimed her, will one day reach to a point where her quirk will overtake her sanity. She will grow mad when the time comes because the bare reason why her quirk exists is to consume the quirks of everyone around her. She will become a monster driven mad in order to survive… a beast that will take the lives of every soul she comes upon."

Inko's heart suddenly plummeted. Those few sentences sent an unnerving feeling that her body reacted to. The worst part was, the woman didn't seem to be lying with her words.

"It will take time… but when she continues to harness that power with no control, no supervision, and no empathy to spare her madness she will become the monster that everyone will fear in time."

"N-No…"

"Oh yes… that is why I was trying to offer you to put her in my care. As callous as I may be… I will never let such an event happen. I can contain her with my tools and money. I can make sure that the quirk she has inside of her remains dormant. No monster will spell Armageddon in her name Inko, the blood on your hands will never boil up to such extremities."

Inko locked eyes with her.

"T-There has to be a way…" she pleaded.

"There is. Mine is the best option as I once told you."

"I-I can't… I can't do that to her." Inko firmly said. Juno frowned, but mused to herself that she did enough to convince her. Which means… plan B has to be set in motion.

"If you are willing to take the long road. Fine, you have my blessing in that regard."

"B-But you said-"

"I never said it was impossible to stop the girl from becoming the monster we all fear. It will be difficult I must say to you… but with the right tutelage, the right control, and the right empathy to guide her with her quirk then maybe you do have a chance."

Inko felt a glimmer of hope rise through the darkness. But… her relationship with Izumi was the opposite of empathetic.

"I must warn you however, this choice of yours will warrant numerous trials and problems along your way. I dare say that you may never survive it in time, but if you are confident then I will leave that decision to you."

Inko started to question what this woman wanted.

"Why are you helping me?" Juno laughed at this question of hers.

"I am not helping you Inko, I am merely stating the facts of your decision. I am a scientist at heart and I like observing experiments… this, is one experiment I will gladly watch until it ends. Even if the world burns, I will observe with the keen eye of curiosity." She said with a large grin beneath her mask. Inko felt disgusted and focused on her neck to choke her, only to find that her quirk never interacted with Juno.

"Don't try to kill me yet… you won't feel the benefits of my hand across this experiment."

Inko then angrily grabbed the collar of Juno's dress.

"Listen to me you bespoke fuck… don't you dare lay a finger on Izumi much less anyone from your stupid disciples. If I see even one of them around her, I will finish what I couldn't do here in this very spot we're in. I don't care what your plan is… but I will make sure that everything you told me will not happen to Izumi. She will not become a monster like me and she will…-"

Juno tilted her head.

"S-She will b-become a hero. I'll make sure her dreams will come true… even if she hates me." Inko finally said as each word bore a pain of guilt as she recalled all the times she disciplined Izumi with this 'stupid' dream of hers. Right now, she wasn't sure…

"You really are an interesting individual Inko… but I'm afraid you are no loving mother as you stated yourself before. That child will be the end of you, and I'm certain the choices you established when you took her in will never help her unless you change."

Inko didn't respond to that, she then slowly let her loose as Juno walked away while trying to dust off the part of her dress where her hands touched her.

Inko was left speechless… realizing her faults on Izumi's part.

"Oh and one more thing Inko… that change in the girl I told you about, the primary sign you need to look out for is when she starts having _**hallucinations**_. Keep that in mind so you won't panic when the time comes."

The words ominously remained in her head even up to the present.

* * *

**PRESENT…**

Truthfully enough at the proclamation that Inko was the villain Jade that disappeared out of everyone's eyes years ago, the whole UA staff was on edge and ready to take action and take her in. But with the quick assistance of Nezu, along with All Might and Nemuri, they were able to stop that. Calming everybody down so that she along with the other people who are part of Izumi's secret were able to explain the dangerous and volatile situation they were in now. At first, nobody trusted her words nor was Aizawa convinced of everything that was being told to them. However, with the trust placed on her by All Might, of whom they knew to be the most trustworthy of heroes, they conceded to at least listen to what she had to say.

Inko's deliberation was mostly quiet, those who listened to her remained inside their thoughts thinking whether to trust this information, but since it was backed up not only by one of their colleagues and principal, but also All Might so they managed to believe most of what she said. Even Aizawa was not foolish enough to defer her explanation with the evidence presented of the red-haired girl's quirk.

As each detail was given and each morsel of information was absorbed by the UA staff, they grew increasingly concerned and baffled by how much power the girl had in her. It wasn't an exaggeration too since they saw first-hand what the girl did in the practical.

Inko explained the quirk to them slowly. Giving in details of how it works and how dangerous it is with the various possibilities and limits that even they can't determine with how the nature of her quirk worked. Added by the detailed observations that Dr. Shigechi had and the various testimonies of All Might, Kaguya, and Nemuri as well as Gran Torino…

It painted a picture of a quirk that reached abnormal levels of power that to some could probably be the world's most powerful quirk in existence (though this was put on debate as instances like All Might exist). However, this argument was also being somewhat thrown into obscurity since the girl possessed and unintentionally consumed 'One for All' into her system.

They were also told of the intense drawback of Izumi's quirk, one that they all felt bad for the young girl. Having to lose that much blood in order to fuel that energy she lashes out was a thing they all agreed to be too much even for the girl. This raised concerns on both Vlad King and Recovery Girl whom asked if the girl was allowed to use her quirk at all in this condition. Dr. Shigechi and Gran Torino were quick to answer that, stating that the girl was trained well enough to minimize as much power as she can given usual circumstances as well as the device on her head that served as a limiter.

This did not stave away the concerns but it lessened the questions on that part.

Multiple questions like that kept on piling up, most answered by Inko, Nemuri, and Dr. Shigechi as time passed. It had been more than an hour and a half since they first started this meeting and it felt like it wasn't bound to halt at any time soon.

All Might also opened up the part on why the girl was mostly free in using the black energy constructs she lashed out. As he said this most of the staff was quite surprised to learn that within that mass group of quirks, 'One for All' seemed to operate separately from the girl's own quirk.

As time passed by from that debate, the only thing left that wasn't said to the UA staff was one thing that to those who knew Izumi was the truth regarding on how Inko found her.

"This girl… I can't imagine the amount of stress she has without that headband of hers. One quirk can be hard to maintain enough but having multiple quirks inside her is easily difficult." Ectoplasm surmised. Power Loader seemed to agree on that idea.

"If she consumes more quirks I can't imagine how much energy output she can release from her body at that stage. I'm kind of scared at how much limitless potential and power her quirk has, and to top it all, All Might's quirk is part of her system." Power Loader added.

"Even with the safety concerns you all have placed in her Ms. Midoriya, I don't think it will be enough to truly stop her from keeping all of that power in." Space Thirteen commented as Inko laid eyes on her. The others who were listening seemed to have the same thoughts as well.

"I understand what you're trying to say… but we don't have much of a choice on that regard." Inko replied. Aizawa huffed at her response, although Inko seemed to accept his disregard for that too.

"Why is that actually? You've told us in the last hour and a half about how potentially dangerous and powerful this girl is… yet you all have never given us the reason why you chose to talk to us rather than people with better expertise and authority on how to handle situations like this. While I do believe this girl truly is an anomaly and something that needs to be monitored, why did you not approach the government or any agency that can allow the safety of this girl to be in better hands?"

Truthfully enough that sentence was not a thing that they would expect from someone like Present Mic, who just stood up and basically asked the question that was lingering most inside the minds of all those who were present. Even Aizawa shared this sentiment and Inko was forced in an inevitable spotlight.

Inko who remained where she was looked at everybody who were in anticipation of her reply on that specific question. Toshinori who was standing behind her felt a wave of concern upon Inko as she was having difficulty trying to think on what to say next.

Nemuri herself wasn't ready as to what was going to happen. Because this was the moment where they needed to say the unbiased truth about the girl's situation.

"I have to be honest with you all… you were not my first choice on trusting Izumi's protection and safety. As you all know, I was formerly a criminal and relatively speaking I still am. I never wanted to Izumi to be known to the public, I never wanted her to pursue her dream of being a hero nor did I even want her to think about being a hero. But, this isn't about me… nor is it about my track record, or the amount of people I killed in the past. This is about my daughter and her dream of being a hero even if she doesn't know about the dangers her quirk has on everybody and herself. I chose you people, because I see how Izumi sees you all… how she idolizes you all for helping people, something I couldn't do in the past nor even now. I chose UA because it was the best chance she had… the best chance to be with the people she believes in and learn to be something better than me…"

Toshinori felt a tinge of weight in his heart as she said those words. Nemuri as well whose eyes were getting wet with the built up tears. Those who were listening remained quiet, even Aizawa who was still repulsive over the thought that she was here listened in.

"I don't ask you to forgive me. I never regret the decisions I made in life. I never regret all of those people that died because of me…" Inko then stares at Aizawa. "… but I made a promise to someone in the past to find my way and bring purpose to my life. I never found it, until one job brought me to the little girl that changed my life."

"Are you saying you're not her mother?" Aizawa asked.

"Yes. I'm not." Inko admitted and the whole room began to speak in a mixed response, questions were being thrown at her until Inko raised her hand to continue.

"That girl is Izumi, and I took her in because I saw myself in her. I saw a little girl that cried in my arms as I woke up amongst the smoke and debris in Aldera… fourteen years ago."

This one revelation shook everyone's senses to the core. The shock was too much. Even Aizawa had his mouth open slightly in surprise.

"Wait… are you suggesting that-" Space Thirteen asked in fear of the truth.

"It's true. I was there before Jade vanished without a trace. I never spoke to the authorities about it because I was unsure of what happened myself. But unfortunately, what you're all thinking is in fact correct. All of those deaths in that night was caused accidentally by this girl who unintentionally used her quirk on that night. The old reports of having no survivors in Aldera was incorrect, Inko and her daughter were the only ones that managed to survive that incident." Toshinori said, quickly silencing those who wanted to ask further questions about that.

"Does this mean, the supposed villain which got everyone to search for any whereabouts for more than ten years… is this girl?" Power Loader asked, his tone in disbelief but he wasn't in disproving it either.

All eyes went to Inko.

"Y-Yes, she is."

Murmurs began to start. Questions of various kinds began to sprout again. They now proceeded to even ask violently about Inko on why she left the scene and fled. It was getting intense to the point that Toshinori had to once again calm everybody down.

Inko wasn't having it however.

"Look, none of this is important! I don't get why you're all asking me these questions. Do you all really think they would let Izumi get away with what happened? Do you really think the people with authority would just let that innocent girl live with how much people she killed? Do you really think I was so heartless to leave that girl where she was and let everyone on the truth that she massacred an entire city? Do you think... damn it! I'm not her mother! But I took the risk and hid her from the world!"

Inko wiped her tears.

"How do you think people will react when they learn about this? How would they react to loved ones and friends killed by a single girl on that night? The worst part of all of this is… Izumi doesn't know. She doesn't know anything for crying out loud! That speech in that stupid Memorial Day in Aldera was hers! That damn speech about heroism and honoring the dead in Aldera was hers. She dreams of putting everyone in Aldera to rest by serving justice to their deaths. I nearly wanted to say the truth to her when she said that to me…"

Inko took a deep breath.

"What I'm trying to say to you people is… Izumi believes in you. She believes in the concept of heroes and if she believes in you then I need to do the same. I may not be her mother but she is mine no matter what anyone says about it and I will be there by her side until the day I die."

Her final words silenced everybody and their thoughts on those concerns. Most of them had respect on Inko's fortitude. She wasn't out of the loop yet with her past crimes but in that very least in terms of the girl's condition they agreed to consider her words. Aizawa still had mixed feelings but he understood how much the girl meant to Inko. He didn't like her still, but as she said as heroes they needed to take action.

"Thank you for your testimonies Ms. Inko, but being that we must deliberate over this… I believe we need you to exit the room for a moment so that we can decide what to do next." Nezu said as he came in front. Inko nodded and left the room in silence.

Toshinori looked at Nemuri.

"Stay with her. She needs it right now." he whispered and Nemuri left the room to catch up with Inko. Leaving those left in the room as they let the facts sink in.

"I can see now why the girl is a sore topic… I expected something big but not this big." Snipe lamented. Toshinori stepped up as he sunk into his real form. Gran Torino as well.

"That's not the only thing that is problematic about this situation my friends." He expressed with a concerned tone in his words.

"There's more?" Cementoss asked.

"Indeed… you see this information we talked about is not only exclusive to us unfortunately. There are others who know about the girl as her mother told us. People that are less than inclined of her existence and wish to exploit it." Gran Torino proclaimed.

This made everyone to pale towards the implication.

"This is where we come in my fellow teachers. For the girl's fate lies on what we unilaterally decide next." Nezu added to which everyone's attention was turned on.

* * *

Inko felt her emotions in a mixed bag as she walked in the halls of UA. It didn't end as bad as she thought it was, and Aizawa certainly did not let his emotions overtake him further. He was mostly calm and collected as they let her speak and she was thankful that everyone behind her was in support towards her little speech.

She wished that they would agree on that proposition. She hoped that letting out most of what her chest held in was enough to guide their decision. Izumi's life was on stake right now and the warnings Juno said about her quirk slowly taking over her sanity was making her anxious. Izumi was fine but it could happen anytime soon.

She hoped that device on her head was enough to slow that process or ultimately stop it from manifesting. Of course relying on a machine was stupid, and it needed her as well as those around her to stop that from happening and keep Izumi as she is.

For now, while she waited she wished to see her daughter. The school's grounds which were allowed to her wasn't that large so it wasn't going to be hard to track her down. That, and since the headband had a tracking device, it made it easy to know where she was.

"Inko! Wait up will you." She heard someone say behind her. It was Nemuri who caught up to her. Inko smiled at the appearance of her friend. The feeling of heavy emotional weight being lifted off her temporarily.

"Need some company?" Nemuri asked as he took off her eyewear and wiped her eyes.

"I didn't need it but since it's you I'll appreciate it." she teased.

"Heh… yeah."

They walked in silence as the peaceful view beside them showing the greenery of the trees and view outside made them feel comfortable after the heavy emotions of the meeting earlier.

"Do you think they'll accept?" Inko asked.

A shadow of a smile appeared on Nemuri's lips.

"If there's one thing I know about the guys I work with. Is that whenever a student is need we're there instantly to make sure they're okay. They'll make a decision on Izumi and it will be the best for her I promise." Nemuri assured.

Inko smiled back as they reached the cafeteria to which Izumi was supposedly in.

As they reached it they saw the girl happily talking with Lunch Rush as she ate what seemed to be pancakes with chocolate syrup. What made the scene so important to both of them was Izumi's natural aura of positivity and happiness. Like nothing in the world worried her and that she was content and comfortable with what she had.

Even with the painful experience she got in with the Practical Exam, here Izumi was… happy like nothing bad had happened. Like nothing of worry was going on with her life.

It was far from the truth but the both of them decided that it was something they needed to preserve.

"I don't even know if we can tell her the truth someday…" Inko admitted.

"You and me both." Nemuri replied as they joined Izumi afterwards.

* * *

"Damn…" Snipe simple commented as everything was laid bare to them.

The red file, Juno's warnings, the underworld who now know Izumi's whereabouts because of the Slime Villain incident and everything there was to know about Izumi's situation.

It was simply unnerving to hear and truly concerning to think about.

"I can understand somewhat of the concerns of Ms. Midoriya in regards to telling the authorities. I myself was experimented on when they found out I can talk and have a higher plane of thought. Should they have known of the girl about how she was in the center of the Aldera tragedy, I don't think they would simply dismiss that fact either." Nezu said to which most of them agreed.

"We can't just keep this secret. If what you all said is true about villains knowing of the girl's quirk it isn't going to be easy nor will it be discreet Principal." Ectoplasm said in concern.

"We aren't going to keep it secret. The plan between us who know about the girl's quirk is to slowly guide her in mastering and teaching her how to be a hero. Even with that quirk of hers, together we can help her contain it and she could be an outstanding hero if we guide her to the end. I know villains are the problem here but that's the reason we made this choice, because UA is the safest option to her now. We can think about telling the girl the truth for later and slowly get the proper people with authority to be convinced that she is a good investment." Toshinori explained.

"I have concerns All Might… that of which entails **IF **we manage to do all of that. There are too many variables for this to go wrong and at best the girl knows about this and it will all be for naught." Power Loader replied to his explanation.

"The girl's safety is the important part of this. We can't just let random people to take her away without knowing what they'll do to her. This place and all of you involved here are people we trust and we know you all can't turn a blind eye on this girl." Toshinori firmly stated.

They all looked at each other and small murmurs were formed.

Toshinori hoped it was enough.

As they continued to debate, Aizawa raised his hand to speak. Nezu allowed him to.

"I don't trust Inko… I will never trust her until she's behind bars."

"Aizawa listen-" Toshinori was stopped when Aizawa walked closer to the head of the room to confront him. He sighed and continued to speak.

"But I understand the situation she's in. I think we all do… and as much as I dislike doing this or even accepting it. You are correct to assume that UA is the safest and sanest choice for her." he said with admittance that everybody seemed to agree on.

He walked back to his position as Toshinori looked to the rest of the room. They seemed to be in agreement now and with that said… Nezu, the principal stood up in front and took the place of All Might to relay the staff's final decision.

"Thirteen, do we have the written exam results of Izumi Midoriya?" he asked.

Space Thirteen stood up and replied:

"We haven't completed the test results yet on all the examinees but luckily the girl was in Batch B so she was one of the earlier results that were checked."

"And?"

"She has an almost perfect score on all subjects. Just shy by 3 or 5 points on each test." As she said this, Nezu thanked her and let her sit. The other teachers were quite impressed by those results. It wasn't a perfect score but it was high enough.

"As for her practical… with how she saved those students with her quick wit and decision-making… what can we say for her results?"

Cementoss was the one to answer that.

"She has accumulated no points on destroying or shutting down any villain bots but with judgement of most of us in the room. Her rescue points speak for themselves…"

Toshinori's frown began to change into a small smile.

"That is good to hear… very well then. Everyone is in agreement I assume?" Nezu asked and all of them nodded, there was a bit of reluctance but it was mostly an agreeing vote.

"Well then ladies and gentlemen… with that decision, I believe this school year will be the most promising in the history of this school." Nezu cheerfully proclaimed...

END OF CHAPTER 10

* * *

**AN: This was supposedly longer, but I think leaving it at that is better than prolonging it. Oh, and by the way thank you guys for getting this small and imperfect(yea it isn't the best I know lol) fanfic to 8k views and counting. Because of that I'm going to try harder to make this story better and better so that 8k views will matter in the end. I'm not sad by having 3 reviews still even with how much chapters I've posted but since you guys are reading I'll take that as a sign of appreciation. I'm not the best writer but I'm willing to try and entertain you guys with each chapter I post...**

**With that said, we're getting to the good stuff in the next few chapters. Since Izumi is definitely going to UA. Til' Then guys! Keep safe.**

**NEXT CHAPTER- "NEW BEGINNINGS": Izumi has finally been accepted into UA, with new classmates, new environments and new places to be in, she starts her journey on being a hero officially as the first day of classes starts. As this happens, Inko who is concerned still with her daughter, starts to wonder what her own decisions will be on what to do moving forward. **

**SideStory #7 coming soon!**


	18. SideStory 7: A Promise

SideStory #7

"A Promise"

_Inko felt her hands tremble. She sat there on the floor begging and crying to forgive her of a mistake that cost her everything. Tears flooded down her eyes as she clasped the hands of the one person that truly loved her. The entire room was silent. The entire unit of the apartment they were in was silent. The entire building in itself…_

_ Was silent._

_ No voices, no usual chatter, nothing was heard. _

_ A stream of blood dripped down from the nose of the person she held in her arms. A lifeless carcass now that remained. Body paled from the already started necrosis. Eyes still open with an expression of shock. Inko continued to cry still._

_ She didn't know how long she remained on that cemented floor. She didn't even know how long ago this happened. The only thing that she knew was that here she was, holding the body of her beloved. She cried out in infamy at a person that would never come back._

_ Her voice echoing amongst the halls that dared not to whisper back to her._

_ Clutching the hand of the cold corpse, Inko remained still caressing his hair. Caressing his face. She placed a soft and apologizing kiss upon his forehead. Closing his eyes with shaking hands full of guilt. Guilt that was built upon herself for causing all of this._

_ Guilt that she had a hand in killing him._

_ Guilt, for killing Hisashi._

_ She could recall the words he said to her hours before he died. It was meant as a sentence of comfort for her. Even with the tragedy which was her normal life, Inko remained still with hope because of him. Because of him she could smile without worry nor concern of it ever being stopped._

_**"You don't need to be with me to be happy Inko, sure I am always there for you but you have to find it within yourself to find your purpose in life."**__ he said to her_

_ "But I'm happy with you."_

_**"That doesn't mean you need to stop there. Find your purpose and you'll feel more content and happy with your life."**_

_"You're asking too much from me."_

_**"No I'm not."**_

_Inko remembers laughing as they climbed up the stairs towards her apartment. Up to her father who was home. She was worried and anxious about something. She doesn't remember why but she remembers Hisashi trying to talk with her to cam herself down._

_ "What about you? What's your purpose?" she remembers asking._

_**"I already found it."**_

_She remembers smiling back at him as they both laugh. Inko shoves him back playfully for how cheesy he sounded towards her. She reckons that maybe her purpose was him too, maybe her purpose in life was to be with him as well._

_ How wrong she was…_

"_I'm sorry…"_

_Hours pass... the silence still remaining all around her. It takes about thirty minutes until she finally hears someone knocking on the door. She doesn't move an inch. She remains on the floor even when people with flashlights and badges escort her out of the building. Her mind remained in a dazed state. It took two men to pry her off Hisashi's body. It took two again to lift her away from the building and into an ambulance where multiple people began questioning her._

_Questions that asked about what happened, how was she, was she injured, as well if she saw anyone in the building other than her that survived. Some even asked if there was anyone in the building at all before it all happened._

_Inko could not say._

_She didn't dare speak. She was far too traumatized and pained from the experience. Her eyes were wet still from all the crying she made. Her skin sticky from the sweat and tears that wrapped all over her body. She sat there on the ambulance as multiple people came in. _

_People with badges, uniforms, and suits._

_People who wanted to interview her._

_It all happened around her as she sat in the ambulance. She could hear it all for some reason. Her senses heightened to such lengths that small conversations can be heard around her. Small vibrations and the feeling of being able to sense everything within the radius of her reach was in her grasp._

_A person in a suit came inside the ambulance. He gave her a cup of water. _

_She took it gingerly without saying a word. He left after that and her mind wandered on sensing the man as her instincts took over a bit. She sensed the man began talking to a few of his colleagues._

_The conversation they took about her made her drop her cup._

"_**No survivors?"**_

"_**No one. Everyone is dead, and by analysis major blood vessels in their brain were ruptured."**_

_** "Jesus… all of them?"**_

_** "Yes, all of them."**_

_** "Was this her doing?"**_

_** "We can't say for sure… but the records show that the woman was registered with a telekinetic quirk and these wounds are too precise and close to how telekinetic attacks work."**_

_** "What do we do if this is really her doing?"**_

_** "If she is the convict, we're going to have to take her in and send her for further analysis in our labs."**_

_** "Do we need to do that? She doesn't look healthy enough to move."**_

_** "Did you see how many people are dead in that building? If she has a volatile quirk we need to follow the proper procedure. Even if it means we need to use deadly force to reign her in."**_

_Inko widened her eyes in fear. Those words…_

_ It grabbed her heart with such torment that her survival senses kicked in. Her adrenaline spiked as she felt the men out there finished with their small talk and were heading her way. Some had guns ready and some were ready to restrain her on spot._

_ She panicked. She stood up from the ambulance. Then, the driver who was waiting for further orders noticed her. Before he could even react she focused on him and something popped within his head. He fell flat on his seat as blood rushed out his nostrils._

_ Inko then knew that opening the door of the ambulance will get her caught. She then looked around for anything to escape with. There was nothing._

_ She then made a plan that required intense amounts of focus and on that day she had no proper knowledge of her quirk yet, but she tried. If she didn't, these men would take her away to God knows where. Inko had to take the risk._

_ What she did next startled everyone. A large explosion ruptured from the ambulance as the fuel tank was ignited. It blew away everyone around the vehicle. Leading for some to suspect that she was dead. From the explosion alone added another few people that she killed._

_ Another batch of souls that were lost because of her._

_ They said she was dead, only for her to break a hole inside the ambulance towards the sewer with her quirk as she nearly passed out from focusing too much of it. She sealed the exit route once the explosion occurred. Effectively nulling the hole that she escaped through by debris._

_ She ran away into the night inside the sewers. She left behind her life as she ran away. Away from everything. With nothing to look back but blames upon the accident she caused that not only killed her beloved, but also her reputation. _

_ Inko vanished without a trace on that night. Never to appear again until she took the persona of Jade. Lost in life and lost in her way…_

_ She neither found the purpose that she promised to Hisashi nor the strength to look back at her mistakes. _

_ She ran from everything… until she found Izumi._

_The purpose that she now held responsible with. For the girl was like her in the situation she was in now, a victim of a crime that they didn't commit by will nor by their own volition. But for Izumi, Inko decided that she wouldn't let the girl go down the path she took. By the girl's life she wouldn't let her become the person she was when she ran away that night. _

_She vowed to Hisashi that with her renewed purpose, the girl would live a different life. A better life that she could sacrifice her own life to achieve…_

* * *

20:03 Hours…

"Thanks by the way…" Inko said as she sipped the last of her drink. It wasn't alcohol this time; ever since that day where they took care of Izumi's place in UA, she didn't have the taste to get drunk at all. The drinks she shared with Toshinori today at the same place they met at most nights was her favorite non-alcoholic drink, a strawberry shake. Toshinori ordered the same as well for both of them and they talked away their worries for the night.

This night however, she seemed distant and quiet more than usual.

"For what?" Toshinori asked as he put his drink on the table they took together.

"For everything. I haven't thanked you enough Toshinori, for Izumi's sake and… mine as well." Inko admitted as they looked straight into each other's eyes. For some odd reason to Toshinori, he felt a feeling of comfort while his heart beat up a little faster than normal.

To Inko, she found his blue eyes alluring. The eyes of a foe she once battled with, were now replaced with a distinct kindness that she really liked.

"You're welcome…" he said simply.

"Bet you noticed I haven't been talking lately with these meetings of ours huh?" Inko teased with a playful smirk. Toshinori smirked back as he sighed in relief.

"Was worried you were thinking about something…" he said.

"Thinking about what?"

"Your problems… all of them."

Inko looked away and tapped the edge of her glass. Toshinori found that small detail of her personality as something she does when she's anxious or was worried about something. He placed a comforting hand on top of hers that made Inko quiver a small smile. He was always like this she mused. So kind… so heartfelt and good. So… comforting.

So friendly.

He wasn't as crass, playful, teasing, and funny as Hisashi was but they shared a distinct care for her that she noticed. A distinct kindness that made it seem like all her worries were washed away.

A complete opposite of her personality. Yet the two men seemed to stick and believe her still.

"You know; you don't have to keep it all in to yourself. I'm here to help you. That's the whole reason we even frequent these meet-ups. So that you don't have to shoulder all the burden on your back. _I am here for you Inko._" He said, with the end of his last sentence in an attempt at humor for his persona as All Might. She giggled a bit at that attempt.

"Is it?" she asks. "Is it the whole reason why we do these meet-ups? There's no other reason whatsoever as to why we're doing this?"

"If you're implying that we do this to hang out then I'm down for it." he said as they both laughed.

Inko liked his sense of humor. Sure it was dry and stupid at times. Cheesy when he does his stupid All Might quotes… but she never found it unbearable to hear.

Hisashi was funnier, she admitted that.

"In all seriousness though… what is the reason why we're doing this Toshi?"

Toshinori stopped for a second when he heard that nickname. Inko didn't even notice that the word slipped out of her tongue. She was waiting instead for his reply.

"I don't really know to be honest. Do you want to have a reason?" he asked. Confused with his own emotions as looking deeply into Inko's green eyes made his heart beat faster than before. He felt a tinge of fear from what was going to happen next.

"I can't say… d-do you enjoy my company?" she shyly asked. A blush forming on her face.

"I-I do." He said, his face heating up.

Inko wondered what she was doing at that very moment. She was comparing Toshinori and Hisashi for a second there… and now, she leaned closer towards him with a blushed face. Their faces inches away from contact.

"Inko… what are you doing?"

Inko leaned closer, not knowing the answer herself. For the longest time no one had ever treated her the same way as Hisashi, and Toshinori seemed to be that person that came to her life again to save her from her own sadness.

Fuck, she didn't even know what she was thinking now to be honest.

They looked deeply into each other's eyes as Inko closed in.

Their lips almost touching. Until…

_**Hisashi's smile came to her mind, the very last smile that he gave moments before he died. "I already found it." he said to her.**_

Her eyes widened as reality struck her. She looked at Toshinori who was frozen in his seat. She leaned away as she covered her lips with her hand. She wiped a rogue tear that came out of her eye.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know what I was doing there." She admitted while looking away.

"Don't worry about it… you didn't mean to harm anybody." He said as he finally unfroze. He gave a reassuring smile to her as he scratched the back of his neck with an awkward laugh. He himself had his emotions in a spur but Inko took focus over his well-being.

Inko finally looked back at him.

"Didn't mean to sour the mood." Inko said.

"You didn't."

She then stood up as she gathered her things. With everything that transpired, she needed to go home and rethink about herself.

"I think we should end the night here… I just need some time to think. I-Is that alright with you?" Inko asked, he merely nodded as he stood up to join her. He wanted to continue talking with her but with what just happened he understood what she was going through.

"At least let me walk you home." He offered.

"That's not a problem for me." Inko replied with a smile as together, they walked in silence.

Even with the emotions between them, it didn't make the walk more awkward as it was. Truthfully enough to both of them…

It seemed like they quite enjoyed this short meet-up.

* * *

20:46 Hours…

Inko said her goodbye in an awkward manner as they separated. She hated herself for being so stupid but she threw those thoughts away as she arrived at the apartment. She opened the door with numerous thoughts dangling in her head but as she slowly opened it, she was met with a surprise.

"Mom! You're back!" Izumi cheerfully said as she embraced her.

Inko wondered what was happening and saw that the entire living room as well as the kitchen had been decorated somehow for a celebration that she didn't know. Nemuri stood at the doorway of the kitchen, leaning with a smirk.

"What's going on Izumi?" Inko asked as the girl had a goofy party hat on her head. Crudely made but to Nemuri and Inko it was funny enough. The mystery occasion didn't need to be extravagant.

"You won't believe it! I got in! I passed!" Izumi said in glee.

Inko smiled back and looked at Nemuri who simply shrugged in response.

"That's wonderful! I-I'm glad…" Inko simply said to which Izumi looked confused at. "What's wrong?" Inko asked again.

"Nothing mom… I'm just not used to you saying that. Back then you know… you would've said something different." Izumi admitted as she looked away. Inko nodded slowly with understanding. She then stroked her hand on Izumi's red hair and thought about Hisashi's words to her.

About finding her purpose. Here was her purpose. Izumi was her purpose.

"That doesn't matter anymore Izumi, right now I'm just happy that you've made it this far."

Izumi then smiled back at her with a spirit of thankfulness that she gave to Inko. They separated again as the small party for Izumi's success that night occurred.

And Inko could finally say back to Hisashi, wherever he was that she found her purpose…

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 11

* * *

**AN: We're still going to explore Inko's past in the future, but this one opens it a lot in terms of what happened, and what drove her to make that decision in taking in Izumi. I hope you guys like it. **

**Til' Next Chapter... where the first day in UA begins.**


	19. XI New Beginnings

XI. New Beginnings

Izumi stood inside her room, getting ready for her first day at UA. She just came out from taking a bath and drying her hair from the bathroom. With a towel covering her body from the chest down, she looked over herself on the mirror with a small cheerful smile before leaving to go and open her wardrobe. As she began to gather her clothes, she still felt a surreal sense of satisfaction and disbelief at where she was going to school today. Finally, after years of dreaming and hoping to be in UA, she was now finally there to start her first day in class. The same school where her idol and mentor All Might went to.

Fulfilling that dream after all the effort she gave out these past few months was nothing short of fantastic. She grinned mentally to herself after her less than desirable performance in the Practical Exam. She was in fact depressed for weeks before the results of the exam came in. Thinking and overthinking that she did not get to pass having turned into a failure for not doing what the exam intended her to do.

To Izumi's luck however, it seemed like fate gave her a second chance since the message in the mail indeed came and out of it came her invitation to UA, complete with the surprise of All Might becoming a teacher in UA and the reasons why she was deemed a passing mark on the practical. Luck seemed to be at her side since all of those maneuvers and actions she did to save her co-examinees seemed to have paid off. Granting all her (embarrassingly hard) effort into something worthwhile. The amount of disbelief and shock she had on that day knowing that she passed was something she did not feel ever since All Might took her in as his student. The amount of celebration was obvious on Izumi's face, and it took a very pleasant day and night for her to get it all out of her system. With her mother and aunt, it seemed like everything was going her way.

Today on the other hand was a different situation altogether. She had to focus and strive to be the best student she could be in order to be worthy of this second chance. She had to repay all the effort she made again from both herself and those who taught her so that she could use all of it in UA.

Now however, the one thing that was seemingly stopping her from completely clothing herself into her new proud uniform…was the weird fact that the underwear she used for her chest seemed to be a bit tighter than usual. She frowned at that as she tried to move in it. She walked to the mirror and saw herself in multiple angles, contemplating what seemed to be wrong with her top.

She shrugged that fact away as she took the other pair of that set on her underside. As she fastened the panties to her waist and finally set where it needed to be… there was also a weird sensation.

It also felt tighter than usual. She looked over herself on the mirror yet again and tried to look at what was wrong. She moved sideways and as her red hair curved by her shoulder she didn't see anything particularly wrong at all. Trying to discern the problem in a more detailed sense, she moved her hands to slowly feel her breasts, trying to see if there was anything wrong with them. She did the same with her bosom as well, though nothing in particular seemed off… at least to her.

Izumi was not a typical girl that labored and made problems with how she looked or how people see her. She only preferred what she liked to wear and what she liked to put on herself, not even minding what other people think which was a stark contrast to most girls her age. She didn't even bother about things like make-up nor dressing up for something formal or just for glamour.

Anything of that sort did not make her comfortable, much like most of what her aunt wants her to wear. She shivered at that thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Then a thought came that was related to her aunt, because a few days ago she and Nemuri went out on a little shopping date to relieve her depressed mood. She recalls her aunt buying her a set of underwear.

She pursed her lips as she thought about it, as the ones she was wearing right now was too tight for any comfort to be found in. With a defeated sigh, she walked to her wardrobe, took out the still-unopened plastic package of the set and trying them on after she cut out the tags.

It was less than revealing nor seductive than what most of her aunt's tastes were. Thankfully it was dark red in color and looked plain enough to be seen as normal. Except for the outlines, which made it look like it was closer to a lingerie type of underwear. It wasn't that close, but it was the type that still made Izumi flinch.

The result was the opposite of what she initially thought of it however. As she looked herself over again on the mirror, she blushed in response at how she came out but found the garments surprisingly soft, comfortable, and easy to move in.

So even with the minor detractors, she finally settled in wearing them.

Just as she finished putting on her tie, a knock was heard on the door. It was her mother.

"Izumi, we don't want you to get late on the first day…" Inko said from behind the door. Izumi greeted back with assurance that she will be finished soon. As her mother left the door, Izumi looked at herself on the mirror for one last time before leaving.

"UA…" she whispered as she made a thumbs up. She then took her headband and clicked it in place as she wore it. Finishing her look, she took her bag and opened the door to get to the living room. Ready to leave.

She stumbled upon her mother who was seemingly readying to leave as well.

"Oh… hi there, didn't know you were leaving too mom." Izumi said as her mother finished combing her hair. She was wearing a nice dark suit on with a medium-length skirt that finished her overall appearance. She had no make-up on but her mother looked ravishing like always. The kind of beauty that accentuated strength but to Izumi, it exuberated an essence of softness as well.

"I got a few appointments to make due with Izumi. One of them involves Toshinori's help too." Inko explained. Izumi smiled teasingly at her as she knew that All Might and her mother seemed far too close now these days. But it also meant she was coming to school with her. An idea she did not like.

"You're coming with me then?" she asked.

"No, I'll meet up with him at UA at about noon. I got to go somewhere first." Her mother aptly said, like a million different things were going inside her head at that moment.

"Care to tell me where?" Izumi said as she finished packing the bento that her mother had made for her on the kitchen table. Inko finished combing her hair and had now put on her small sling bag. Izumi did the same and they both stood up, looking at each other.

Her mother may not have told her where she needed to go, but with the continuous healing connection between them, a part of her trusted her mother enough to let her keep that secret. For now…

Inko smiled. Looking at Izumi where she stood, not even the brightest of words coming from her would explain how proud and happy she was seeing her daughter cheerful and happy. It also reminded her of her older days, when she was that young and it reminded her that Izumi was growing up. The girl smiled at her as well, feeling the appreciation coming from her mother. Inko then took the girl towards her and gave a kiss on the forehead. The first that Izumi ever got from her, and to the girl it felt like a rare and indescribable event that she did not know she could ever feel or witness. A loving kiss from her mother was a thing she didn't know she needed until now.

"Good luck on your first day." Inko said with a smile. Izumi reciprocated with a smile of her own as she took her bag and went to the door. Opening it while looking back, Izumi felt gratitude that her mother had changed for the better.

"Bye mom." She said simply as Inko nodded. Closing the door behind her with a smirk, the girl went to school. Leaving Inko inside the apartment.

"Be safe." She whispered.

* * *

07:14 Hours, Outside of UA Campus…

Izumi finally arrived at her destination, the walk wasn't that hard for her but after being so excited in going to school, she thought that being tired was the least of her worries. A few students were also entering the campus and some of them took notice of Izumi, probably because of that thing she did in the practical exam. She didn't mind it, she was just trying to come in terms that she was going to enter UA, officially as a student this time.

"Okay… deep breaths. You can do this." She said to herself as she grasped both straps of her bag with both nervousness and a sheer sense of excitement. She would be giddy with a smile right now if it weren't for the looming threat of UA's notorious difficulty when it comes to schoolwork.

But her excitement overdid her nervousness and with that said, she made another step forward… only to trip slightly because someone slammed themselves at her back.

"IZU! I made it in time today!"

It was Himiko. Her best friend.

"Nice to see you too Miko…" Izumi said with a small smile as she recovered her balance. Himiko promptly let go of her as she yet again made that same wide smile that had a toothy grin that Izumi knew well enough. It didn't bother her at all that she had canines. As for some reason… she seemed to be growing them too. Not that it was noticeable but she figured it was part of the numerous changes her body was going into because of her quirk. A thing she was slowly investigating now.

"It's great I got to join you here. My alarm almost didn't go off." Himiko said with a blush of embarrassment.

"That's what you always say." Izumi said as they huddled up and walked towards the school, passing the gate and entering campus grounds. The main building of UA was now clear to both of them ahead the pathway.

"Can't believe we're in the same class too! I'm excited." Himiko added as Izumi shared the sentiment. It was quite a good week for them both before classes started. At first, Izumi didn't want any contact from her friends due to her (embarrassing) depression and she was a bit apprehensive towards HImiko since she wasn't there after the exam finished.

The blonde girl being the eccentric and almost obsessive friend as she was didn't mind that and kept on going to her house almost every other day. They enjoyed those nights as well when they did slumber parties or go to movies again. It helped her during that stage.

This also was made apparent when they both got their entrance exam letters. As excited as Izumi was, it was almost comparable to how happy and excited Himiko felt when they learned they were at the same class. Oddly enough, the blonde girl even flexed her combat points on Izumi, who scored zero on that department. It was a small banter but it didn't ruin their friendship.

Izumi didn't know what to expect as they entered the halls of UA. Seeing the map to their designated room which was where Class A was to be held, they both followed the directions while they talked what they wanted to do and experience in this new school year of theirs. They didn't notice that they arrived at their destination, where a large door awaited their arrival.

"Why would they need such a large door?" Himiko asked.

"You wouldn't know what other people's quirks are I guess…" Izumi tried to explain, she wasn't surprised at all seeing these large doors. As she already made a stroll along these halls. Halls that weren't empty anymore when she and Himiko walked along them.

"But do they really need to make it that big?" Himiko teased. Only to see Izumi thinking deeply about that question.

"I do recall Mt. Lady graduating in UA. So maybe that's the reason?" Izumi said with a shrug.

"They couldn't get her fat ass through the door I think." Himiko replied making the two of them laugh for a bit. Izumi then recollected herself and moved to the door which was automated to open for them. As soon as the door opened a very odd sight lay before them.

"Please put your feet down from the desk! Good people work hard to make such facilities for us and UA isn't just a school for undisciplined students!" the blue-haired glasses wearing boy, Tenya Iida shouted on Katsuki Bakugou, the explosive blonde 'friend' of Izumi that was shrugging him off as he continued to do as he pleased.

"Shut your fucking hole nerd."

"Such language! Are you really befitting of this school with that sort of behavior? I came from Soumei Junior High and behaviors such as yours is unacceptable!" Tenya cried out.

"So you're from that stupid elitist school huh? Makes me think less of you now that you said that."

"UNBELIEVABLE!" Tenya once again cried out as he and Katsuki entered an argument with each other. Izumi and Himiko shrugged as they entered the room, the two boys not even noticing that they entered with their heated argument.

As soon as they stepped in however, Kyouka Jirou one of the people that hung out with Izumi from the Entrance Exam took notice of her arrival almost instantly. She had a grin on her face as she approached, while subtly twirling one of the jacks on her right earlobe.

"Hey! It's Redhead!" the tomboyish girl said, she got up and greeted Izumi the moment they entered. Izumi was actually pleased to see her, spending time with the frank, crass, but friendly girl was definitely one of the highlights of her day back in the Entrance Exam.

"Hi." Izumi said awkwardly but was inwardly happy to see her. Kyouka and Izumi exchanged greetings while the girl put her hands on her waist.

"Hey nerd! She finally arrived." Kyouka said as she gestured towards Tenya who was busy being loud with Katsuki. They both seemingly never heard what Kyouka said as their heated debate raged on.

"How long have they been doing that?" Izumi asked.

"Ever since _he _arrived. The nerd and douchebag over there have been at it for almost an hour now." Kyouka admitted as she crossed her arms, looking at the two boys who continued with their bout. Katsuki this time fought back with a bit of intensity as Tenya was going delirious at how he acted.

"Looks like you have competition Izu." Himiko teased with an elbow to Izumi, the redhead girl reacted with a scowl. Himiko giggled away as she poked Izumi's cheek. Kyouka who was listening in to the both of them wondered what that meant.

"Wait… is douchebag over there your boyfriend?" Kyouka suddenly said in a blind guess.

Izumi blushed up a storm and started to wave her hands and head with such speed that she was dizzy. But in no way was she going through this crap all over again. It was a nuisance back in Junior High and she wasn't going to let that happen again.

"NO! He is most definitely not. He is not my boyfriend nor will he ever be!" Izumi screamed with a high tone. She didn't anticipate how much volume it made since everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her direction. Even Katsuki and Tenya stopped their argument.

"Calm down Izumi, I was just asking." Kyouka said as she waved her hands on Izumi in a calming gesture. Himiko even stepped back a bit at that outburst.

"Sorry." Izumi said with an awkward smile to all of them in the room. Bringing them back to what they were doing earlier. Katsuki then took his feet off the desk and frowned at her, he looked away as Izumi rolled her eyes. Tenya who finally exclaimed his final argument sighed in relief and went to Izumi. It seemed for now, he won that argument. (at least that's what he thought)

"Sorry for that as well, and good morning to you Midoriya. I had hoped that you would pass the exam. Thankfully even without a score in the practical you showed us all the true meaning of that exercise. For that I am eternally thankful." Tenya said as he bowed at Izumi.

"Y-yeah… sure." Izumi said with a small giggle.

"You got some interesting new friends Izu, should I be worried?" Himiko teased again.

"Is this the Miko that you've been talking about Izumi? I'm Kyouka Jirou by the way." Kyouka said as she extended her hand towards Himiko, who stared at it for a second and smiled afterwards.

"Himiko Toga! Izu's best friend! Nice to meet you too."

"Likewise." Kyouka replied back with a small grin.

"And my name is Te-" Tenya was about to say when Himiko didn't bother hearing his turn and continued to talk to Kyouka. Izumi on the other hand, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, she's like that."

"Ah I see… well I was going to introduce myself to everybody in the room later, so I don't think it will take that much to get me offended." Tenya replied.

"We already know you dude, you've been telling us your name and school for the past hour." A voice in the back said, one that belonged to a blonde who was talking to a group of guys and one short purple-haired boy that Izumi remembered seeing in the exam.

For some odd reason, the boy seemed to fixate his attention on her the moment he saw her. To say that she was creeped out by how he looked at her was an understatement.

"WAIT! IS THAT HER?" the short purple-haired boy suddenly cried out as he jumped in his seat and looked at Izumi, much to her discomfort. His gaze now had a weirder vibe in it.

"Who is she?" one boy said, who seemed to have tape-like appendages on his arms.

"Don't you guys know? She's the one that destroyed those gigantic Zero Pointers, in mid-air! And they exploded too! Didn't you all see that? She's the one that made the sky red on the practical exam!"

_Oh shit. _

The Redhead Girl's body suddenly froze the moment that creep said those things out loud. She wasn't really proud with how that Practical Exam ended, but she was in no way ready to go through with this sort of attention again.

Murmurs started to form around the classroom, and it was all pointed at Izumi. Katsuki who heard the proclamation was startled to hear that. He saw that explosion in the sky but he never thought of it as Izumi's doing. He gritted his teeth in annoyance once he heard that.

They never even got to finish that bet that they initiated between them and now he hears this. He frowned at her direction and figured talking with her about it later was something he needed to do.

A crowd of Izumi's classmates started to form around her. She then recalled the day when she came to school after the slime villain incident, and this here was almost the same to that. That incident while she was grateful with how thankful and cheerful people were with her act, it didn't make her comfortable with how pushy and excited they all acted towards her.

"It was you? Oh wow!" a pink-skinned girl said with what seemed to be curved horns coming out of her likewise pink hair. Her excitement and energy was almost comparable to Himiko's… though Himiko was a lot crazier and weirder at times.

"Did you really do that? How?" Another voice said and it belonged to the blonde boy from earlier that replied back to what Tenya said.

Izumi started to get overwhelmed as more and more people began asking her questions.

"W-Wait… It's great that you guys are asking me these questions but- "Izumi said out aloud but was drowned in the ruckus as most of them began clamoring on her. Kyouka and Himiko were trying to ward them off as well as Tenya but they kept coming.

Unbeknownst to them, a figure behind the desk next to the whiteboard in the front stood up in his sleeping bag and loomed all over them without anyone noticing. He was pissed off since this was the first day of the semester… and he had to deal with this.

"STOP IT. ALL OF YOU."

All the noise in the classroom vanished in an instant.

A small whimper came to everyone as the voice went up and above to be menacing. They all looked at the figure that stood up ahead of the classroom, still wrapped in his sleeping bag was the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead otherwise known as Shota Aizawa.

"Is that a caterpillar?" Himiko asked, unperturbed at Aizawa's anger, only to be looked at by the man himself of which she grew silent. However, those eyes instantly fell on Izumi whom narrowed and seemed to focus solely on her.

Izumi gulped in fear.

"It's already the first day in this new semester and you're all already despicable in my eyes. Do this mess again and I will make sure you get the boot early than you'd like." Aizawa menacingly said as he got off the sleeping bag. Everyone scrambled back to their seats as his eyes glowed in red and his hair seemingly stood up in a dangerous fashion.

Izumi was about to find a seat when Aizawa once again fixated his gaze on her.

"You… step forward." He said adamantly. Izumi looked around her and saw Kyouka and Himiko wishing her good luck in a subtle manner. She turned and looked at Aizawa straight in the face.

"Y-Yes sir?" Izumi said.

"I'm going to watch you… closely. You make any sort of trouble that I deem to be a nuisance for this class then I'm going to make sure you don't come back to UA." The way his eyes narrowed on Izumi reminded her about her nightmares, only this time this was reality and the very prospect of being kicked out was not a thing she wanted nor what she dreamed about.

"I-I will sir!" Izumi said as she straightened herself. It wasn't that much of a secret to the class the something was behind that seriousness Aizawa had with Izumi, but they shrugged that thought away since it could be related to what happened in the Practical Exam.

Aizawa nodded at her as Izumi found the nearest empty seat, which earned her a glare from Katsuki who was a seat in front of her. Izumi took none of it and sat behind him. She looked around and saw that Himiko, was seated a bit far away on her right, thankfully it looked like she was getting along with Kyouka, and what seemed to be an invisible quirk user that were both her seatmates at either side. She was quite pleased to know that her best friend seemed to find an easy common ground with new people she mingled with. She mused inwardly that her social anxieties were now vanishing somewhat.

Aizawa on the other hand stood in front and checked his watch while small talk returned to the class, it being whispers or low voices between conversations. Izumi looked at everyone and it seemed like most of them were already situated with the change of environment. With people becoming quick friends and the interactions were mostly positive.

**THUD!**

Until that…

"Why did you kick my chair?" Tenya suddenly said to Katsuki who had his foot on the back of his chair. Katsuki didn't respond back, only for Tenya to once again start an argument about him being such 'an undisciplined individual'. Luckily it was diffused as quickly as it manifested as Aizawa moved his glare upon them.

Izumi smiled at that, as things never seemed to change for Katsuki.

A click of the door of the room they were in was heard.

"You two are almost a few minutes late." Aizawa said with an agitated voice at two newcomers on the door to the classroom. It was Uraraka and the transfer student, Sylvia. They both looked happy talking with each other at first but shameful seeing that the whole class was looking at them and what seemed to be the homeroom teacher staring down like a drill sergeant ready to lay them in of their faults. To Izumi, she seemed to be familiar with how the man looked but she couldn't place it yet as he continued to stare at the two newcomers.

"Sorry sir!" Uraraka said with a bow, imitated by Sylvia a few seconds later. Aizawa frowned but he looked right back at the class.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I would like to introduce myself to you all. My name is Shota Aizawa, you may call me sir or Mr. Aizawa, anything besides that is a warning I dare you not to say nor repeat." As he said this, Izumi couldn't help but notice how his voice seemed timid and almost bored in nature. He then turned to the two girls who were still standing by the doorway. "You two, join your classmates and to all of you here now I want you to change into your gym wear. We're going to have a little field day outdoors."

One of the girls next to Izumi, one that had spiky-standing hair stood up.

"But sir, what about the orientation proper?"

"If you want to go there, that's fine be my me… just don't expect any results nor grade coming from my book miss." He then took out what seemed to be a pair of the school's gym clothes out of his sleeping bag. He then threw it to Tenya who caught it just as he took out a juice pouch from the same sleeping bag and drank from it.

"Move it or be left behind class, I won't wait again for those who arrive late." He then walked towards the door as his words were meant on the two girls that just arrived. "Especially you two…" he added as he stood by the door waiting for the class to move and get to the changing rooms.

For the beginning of the first day, Izumi exclaimed it all with a sigh.

Things were truly different here than in Junior High.

* * *

10:16 Hours…

Inko held the strap of her bag tightly like a leash. She stood in front of an abandoned building in the quieter places just in the outskirts of Tokyo. The building was cordoned off and was slated to be demolished by next week. A sign lay on the metal fence that surrounded the unused structure. With the entire street around her empty, with only a few cars and barely any people around she decided that it was the best time of the day to enter this place.

Making sure one last time that there were no cameras involved, Inko looked around with her sensory field and found none. She sighed in relief and took a step closer towards the padlocked and chained fence gate. With a bit of focus, the locks unhinged themselves and the chains dropped on the ground with a clanging sound. It was rusty now and it seemed like the place was neglected for a long time and was only decided to be demolished recently.

Opening the gate slowly as it creaked aimlessly, Inko finally stumbled upon the grounds of the last place she thought she would have visited today. A rogue whisk of cold air moved around her as she took another step, as if the building itself was warning her on treading her feet inside.

It did feel that way for Inko and she motioned herself with soft and easy steps towards the old door that lead to an abandoned lobby. As she arrived at the steps of leading to the entrance, a feeling of nostalgia came upon her. Both good and bad memories holding her mind in a temporary trance.

A bit of reluctance was in her fingers and emotions as she tried to reach the handle of the dusty and rusty doorknob. She steeled her nerves and grabbed it, opening the door with a light push. The hinges still stuck on all ends but it seemed like one more motion could trigger it to collapse anytime soon.

Her footsteps echoed on the now abandoned halls of the lobby she once recalled being less than modest. A few traces of that past look remained, like the now broken clock on the ceiling next to the stairways and the crusty couch near where the guard posted himself in the past.

It was all dusty now as she approached them. Devoid of the poverty-stricken life this place once held. She smiled as she moved her fingers along the dusty walls leading to the stairwell. She arrived at the base and found the stairwell still in the same state as before.

She climbed up as her footsteps continued to echo the empty halls. Ghosts of residents passed seemed to occupy the place, wherever they are Inko hoped that they wouldn't show up and stop her. Not that she believed in ghosts anyway.

She kept on climbing as memories of old played around her like a track, rewinding the times she used to climb here. Rewinding the days where Inko didn't feel the need to run, where she didn't need to hide so many secrets under her belt. Days where it was easier, even with the state of what her life was.

Old newspapers and postings were crumbling on some walls. Recounting events of old that made her flinch and her heart race as emotions gathered back to her.

Titles and names of dead people.

A headline describing a tragedy that struck this place. A silent tragedy that none lived to tell the tale but her. Even with the echoes of the past haunting her of her faults, Inko continued on with determination to continue her journey.

She arrived at the dusty halls of the floor she always went to. Doors on all sides were either broken or were wide open by the amount of necrosis this building had been going through. Rooms where families once convened were empty. Some furniture remained…

And a teddy bear in the middle of the halls.

Inko stopped and picked it up. It smelled of years in isolation, years of having no one to take it nor even wash it with how dusty and dirty it looked. Some stitches of it remained, stitches that were opening up from the wear of tear caused by time. A quiver of a small reprehensible smile came on her face, she then placed the teddy bear on one of the rooms. One of the rooms that had a broken family picture still hanging on the wall. A face of a small girl holding the same teddy bear was on the picture.

"Sorry." She whispered.

She then left the room to itself. Walking again amongst the abandoned halls… and finally arriving where she needed to go. The place where it all began for her. The place where her normal life turned into a cesspool of craziness and bad decisions.

The last place she thought she would visit.

Inko took a sigh of sadness. Seeing even the numbers on the door gave back so many memories. She opened it as the hinges creaked as it moved. Revealing an empty apartment room. Nothing was inside, not even traces of who once lived there.

_They really took everything…_

She walked in with slow steps until she took one good look at the place. The one room apartment she and a parent of hers shared back in the day still remained the same, even when there was nothing left to remind her of those days. There was some, such as the wallpaper that was peeling off the walls on every corner, and window that could never be opened without forcing it to.

As she moved around and surveyed the place, Inko thought that it was time.

She sat on the middle of the floor. Took out a candle from her bag, and a rose that she bought before she came here. Inko then took out the lighter that she always used from the very day she took the Jade persona. She ignited it as she lit the candle and placed it on the floor in front of her.

She then placed the rose right next to it.

She sat in the same place where she once lived normally as Inko.

And at the same place on the floor was where she sat…. holding Hisashi's dead body in her arms.

Inko's emotions wanted to make her at the very least shed a tear for the loss. But today wasn't the day that she needed to cry for events of the past. Today was something different and as she held the candle and closed her eyes…

She swore she could feel his smiles again… the warmth of his presence. The voice and sentences that made him laugh. Along with the various memories that they shared.

It was time… time for her to move on.

Inko smiled happily as she opened her eyes. She set the candle back on the ground and took the rose. Kissing it lovingly like a final goodbye to her beloved that passed on.

No words nor sentences could replace what she could feel right now. In truth, she wasn't even sure if it was worth saying anything, because the intention and feelings inside of her was enough for her to accept what was already finished.

She didn't even know where Hisashi was exactly buried. She didn't know at all where the Midoriya's took him. But at least, even in this place where good and bad memories met, she knew that it was enough in order to say a proper goodbye.

Inko placed the rose back next to the candle and stood up.

Letting the silence overtake her for one last time before she left. This was undoubtedly the last time she was ever going to come back here, but to Inko the trip was worthwhile, since no tears nor sadness was felt. Only the acceptance and love shared of those who were gone.

She thought about Hisashi one more time as she stood up from where she sat. She missed him.

She missed him so much…

But his spirit will live on in her. She was going to make sure of that.

With a final smile, Inko left the room with the candle still burning… she hoped it would shine this lonely place to the very end and leave a final 'I love you' to the person she cared about most in the world back then.

She left the building feeling better than before, and as she thought about Hisashi…

Toshinori's face came into mind.

Truly, things were in fact different now.

* * *

8:12 Hours Ago, UA Campus School Grounds…

"Izu, what the hell are you wearing underneath your clothes?" Himiko stated as she looked at Izumi, wearing something that was akin to a lingerie in design choice. Joining her inside the girl's locker room was her new classmates and they were all changing inside together.

And for Izumi, she failed to realize that she forgot about her new underwear. She blushed profusely when Kyouka and Himiko looked at her in interest. This sentiment was shared by all the girls inside the changing room as well, as it seemed like her underwear was the only one that stood out from the rest of the girls.

"UH… shit. Don't look at me! I-I had nothing else to wear honest!" Izumi tried explaining in panic as she rushed herself to get her gym clothes and tried to quickly put them on.

"I never thought you'd wear such things… I'm a bit surprised." Himiko said as she looked her over. Kyouka thought of the same thing too as Uraraka and Sylvia joined them.

"It's not that bad, it kinda suits her actually" Uraraka noted as she put on her shirt.

"If you're saying she's hot then you may need to question your gender sister." Kyouka teased as Uraraka elbowed her. They all giggled as Himiko helped Izumi in her pants which for some reason got a bit tighter down her waist section. Some of the other girls who just finished up joined them as well. With most of them taking interest on Izumi herself.

"Your name is Izumi… am I correct?" Izumi nodded as she finally got into her shirt. "My name is Momo, it is nice to meet you." The spiky-haired girl said to Izumi as she offered her hand towards her. Izumi finally got into her shirt which like the pants she was wearing was getting a bit tighter on her chest section. She noted to herself to say this problem to her aunt later while she shook Momo's hand.

"N-Nice to meet you too… H-Hang on a sec." Izumi said as she stretched her shirt. Thankfully it worked this time and it seemed decent in comfort for her liking.

"Don't worry I have the same problem too; it helps that I'm not the only one having to deal with it." Momo said with a smile of admittance, Izumi looked her over and indeed… the girl's body was far matured than her, and were quite… sizable in some areas. Not that she minded that, but still she was impressed.

Another girl who was finishing up was the invisible girl who was putting her shirt on and Izumi was wondering why she never had anything underneath and if… Oh, she was completely naked while invisible. Moving on from that, the pink girl with horns from earlier just finished up as she carefully put her shirt on while making sure her horns never pierced the fabric. She cheerfully joined the other girls as well when they circled Izumi.

"Name's Mina Ashido. You can call me Mina!" the pink girl offered.

"Hi Mina, glad to meet you."

"I'm happy to see a fellow horn buddy as my classmate! I hope we get along!" she cheerfully said to Izumi. Izumi then quickly explained to her that her 'horns' were part of her headband and not actual horns. The pink girl seemed to get a bit sad on that but didn't mind.

"I'm Asui." A green haired girl said, and Izumi quickly recalled the days when she used to dye her hair. Nowadays, she gave up trying since it was easily torn off because of her quirk when it activated. She had an odd expression that didn't change on her face, but it wasn't something that Izumi judged. She seemed pretty cool and friendly as well.

This time, it was the invisible girl's turn.

"You can call me Toru Hagakure, nice to meet you Izumi." A ghost of a hand came upon Izumi that she shook with amazement. She nearly wanted to ask the girl so many questions about her quirk but she held it in. Wouldn't want to ruin her first impression on these people.

But she couldn't help but let her amazement out a bit.

"Whoa… that's so cool. I couldn't even tell where your hand was if not for that wristband you wear." Izumi said, Toru seemed to laugh at that as everyone continued to interact with each other in a friendly way. Himiko and Uraraka did the same with their classmates, along with Sylvia who had a hard time trying to communicate with her inability to speak. Luckily Izumi had another person to help bring out what she was trying to say in Momo, who knew sign language. In the end, it still didn't work, so she had to resort with the screen again. Momo and Sylvia seemed to interact pretty well too because they talked further making even the foreign girl to be at ease with everyone.

Until the topic changed back to her.

"Is it really true that you did all of that stuff in the Practical Exam?" the one who asked this was the green0haired girl Asui who held a finger on her chin in question. This drove everyone's attention to Izumi who really didn't want to answer that question.

But she couldn't lie either.

"Y-Yes… I did."

"Whoa… I wish I could've seen that. That would've been something to look at." Mina admitted as most of them seemed to agree. Most of them that weren't there to see Izumi up close that is.

"I've seen it in a recording… it was quite a spectacle seeing that happen on screen. Can't imagine what it feels like being close to that." Momo said, she then explained a bit that she was a recommended student so she didn't need to do the exam, much to everyone's slight jealousy that is. But the conversation came back to Izumi who was once again swarmed by another batch of questions. Oddly enough, while Himiko was indeed listening in, she didn't seem to have the same interest as most of the girls here.

"T-Thanks guys, I-I know you all mean well but I really don't want to talk about what happened in the practical. I barely even remember doing that last bit, as it took all of my strength out." Izumi said to them in an apologetic manner.

"Why so?" Asui said only to be answered by Kyouka and Uraraka who had first-hand accounts of what happened after. It disturbed some of them to know what happened to Izumi after that stunt and they all sent their regards and assuring smiles and statements at her to make her feel at ease. Even Himiko was startled to hear about it a bit and Sylvia looked to be more worried than usual with what she just heard. Izumi quickly made them feel easy saying that she was alright after what happened. She left out details that it wasn't the worst occurrence of her vomiting out blood with each major use of her quirk.

"You see… my quirk seems to have this major drawback whenever I expend energy out in large amounts." She then showed them as she let out her hand and made Black Whip to manifest and spark with light expenditure of her red energy. It quickly sputtered out as she turned her quirk off. "If I do it like that the drawback is next to nothing unless I use it frequently. Back then… I actually had problems with headaches after long uses of it. You can see how much energy expenditure I let out when I did that thing in the exam."

With that explanation, most of them were terrified to learn about that aspect of her quirk.

"Wow, my quirk only lets me get burned to my own acid after so many uses, yours is… scary." Mina admitted. Momo seemed to be concerned for her after hearing that, asking if there was any way to mitigate such damage to her own body. Luckily, she had an explanation for that.

"This headband allows me to focus the energy I need into something efficient but also lessens the drawback significantly. The Practical Exam's drawback wasn't as intense because I was wearing this… plus, it also gives me enhanced focus and enhanced senses. It's really useful and I use it almost all the time even when I don't use my quirk." She pointed on the horned device on her head.

"Interesting… I've never heard of a device like that before." Momo said as Izumi allowed her to touch the headband by the horns. Mina did so as well. Even Sylvia who gestured if she can be allowed to 'scan' it. Whatever that meant.

"I think even with the amount of firepower you hold Izumi, I don't think I like having such drawbacks. As simple as my quirk is, I think I'm going to keep it." Kyouka admitted as they all giggled somewhat. Izumi smiled at them, to have these many people care for her was a new experience. Back in the day, almost every girl she interacted with disliked her presence, except for Himiko there was no one else that really made friends with her. It made her smile to know that these girls were different.

The girls continued to talk to each other until a knock on the door was heard, signaling that they needed to hurry up. They were all done changing as they all walked together, continuing each other's conversations as they finally joined up with the boys lead by Mr. Aizawa who was walking them out to the field. Izumi made herself comfortable at the back of the line while talking to Momo, but was soon joined by Himiko afterwards. Momo let the two already established friends to talk to themselves as the class continued to walk.

Izumi then turned to Himiko to ask a question.

"Enjoying UA already?"

"It's nice… Kyouka seems cool. All of them seem decent, I don't know if I'll be close to them like I am with you but I think they're fine." Himiko said with a noticeable smaller grin this time. Izumi seemed to catch what seemed to be a bit of cautious reluctance in her voice.

"What's the matter?"

"What's the matter with what Izu?"

"I feel like you're a bit off with something." Izumi said, Himiko bit her lip after that but decided to respond back.

"It's nothing… don't worry about me." Himiko said as she shrugged the question away and decided to talk about something else. Izumi felt a bit worried about Himiko shrugging her question that easily, she wasn't like that to keep things from her. But with how she changed the conversation to something that included their fellow classmates, she decided to let the mystery be for now.

Although, she would need to talk about this with her later when they were alone.

* * *

"You don't have taste in style don't you?" Inko asked as she looked around the newly polished and made office room of Toshinori Yagi inside UA. To say that it was devoid of style and grace was an understatement. It was simply too dull and bland to look at what was inside the room. The only feature that seemed to have a bit of causality under this void of nothingness was a red camellia flower situated at the side of his desk. Not even his personal belongings nor workplace materials were placed in an interesting manner. The walls were white. The window closed, and the room while spacious seemed to sap out the life of everyone who dared to enter here.

There was a lack of appliances and furniture in the room as well. With a desk and a chair both in front as well as the main chair behind the desk. A brown couch overlooking a small coffee table also filled the rest of the room, with a semi-empty bookshelf at the far corner next to the window.

"I don't think I need it, and I wasn't the most stylish person around even in my younger days." Toshinori admitted as he finished making coffee for both of them. Holding both cups in his hand, he gave one of them carefully into Inko's hands.

"You mean to say Kaguya and your agency do all the style for your public appearances huh?"

"More or less." He replied back as Inko smiled.

"Does that include your lackluster wardrobe choices as well?" Inko teased, as Toshinori once again wore a striped suit, only this time it was in a different color. Though the design and look did not change in any way.

"Are you implying I'm a boring person then?" he asked.

"You've always been boring. Even back then." Inko sneered with a small giggle. Toshinori rolled his eyes as they both took a sip of their coffee.

"Where is that woman by the way?" Inko mused as she set her coffee on the desk.

"She asked to get a day off, said she needed to visit her mother."

"Really now? Never thought of her as a family-oriented person… much less to care about that. That woman's head is far too serious with this job of hers, I don't even know if she has time for herself."

"You're not wrong in thinking that. She rarely asks for a day off, much less time for herself. I've seen her own room in my house, and there's barely anything there to speak of."

"But it's better than this travesty of an office room I reckon?" Inko teased again.

"You could say that…" he said with a sigh.

"Anyway… thanks for getting me in this place again. I just wanted to talk to you." Inko said to him with gratitude in her voice. Toshinori nodded at her in return.

"You're always welcome to me you know…" he added.

"Yeah… thankfully I didn't get to see Mic and Eraser while I got in. Would have been awkward seeing them. Not that I don't want to, but you know what I mean."

"I do…"

"So… how's Izumi doing?" Inko suddenly said to change the topic. Toshinori thought about that thing ever since he got to UA and it was born with mixed results. Inko seemed to catch that as he bit his lip trying to discern what to say to her first.

"S-She's doing fine. Last I saw her she was mingling with that best friend of hers, and I was surprised to see that girl pass the entrance exam. They were heading to their classroom, because to my knowledge they were put in the same class."

"What's wrong with that?" Inko curiously asked.

"Well… there's nothing wrong about it at all… only that Aizawa is their homeroom teacher."

Inko was surprised to hear that tidbit. It wasn't that she doubted Aizawa's teaching ability but he could be a bit cold and serious at times. Almost like her back in the day with Izumi months ago. However, given Izumi's experience with how to deal with people she reckoned that she would be fine.

Rationally speaking of course…

The girl was strong… stronger and more hopeful than even her, Inko surmised. She would be fine with Aizawa. She knew it deep inside her.

"I think Aizawa would be a good teacher for her… he's hard on the edges but Izumi's already gone through with that kind of personality." Inko said with a positive outlook on that situation.

"Sure… I don't doubt Aizawa's ability, but…"

Inko narrowed her eyes.

"But what?"

"This is the person that expelled his entire class last year because he thought that they were deemed unfit for the hero course."

Inko winced at that.

"You're joking right?" Toshinori didn't respond and Inko frowned instantly at that. She then cursed Aizawa for his stupid ideals on teaching… even back then he was far too uninterested with what their circle of friends was doing with each other for fun. He usually kept himself on the sidelines and to Inko, knowing that he hadn't changed a bit since High School made her question why they were friends back then at all.

"He really kicked them out huh?" Inko asked with a less than pleased tone.

"He did…"

As soon as he said that, she stood up and took her bag.

"Hey… where are you going?"

"To check on Izumi… can you show me where her class is?" Inko said to him and based on how her expression looked, it seemed like she didn't want to take no for an answer.

"I can't help you disrupt their class Inko." Toshinori said to try and reason her out.

"I'm not. I don't even intend to show myself to her class nor to him. I just want to see how her first day goes. Would you help me with that?" Inko said, this time with what seemed to be a small alluring smile that seemed to invite him in.

He winced at that statement as his heart beat a little faster than normal for a bit there.

"I could just find her myself then." she said, a bit of teasing in her voice.

"Fine… but only because I want to see for myself as well. This school's changed a lot in terms of the curriculum from my day. I want to make sure my protégé lives up to that difficulty." He said as an excuse. Inko had a victorious smirk on her face as the door opened, gesturing him on to take the lead.

He rolled his eyes with a small laugh and proceeded to go with her.

As they left the office through the halls of UA, they didn't notice that a few eyes had just witnessed their exchange. Those eyes that belonged to Midnight and Present Mic that was supposed to pass by until they encountered the two.

Nemuri had a large smirk on her face. Present Mic on the other hand looked confused.

"Hey… aren't those two enemies back in the day?" he said.

"Yeah… they are. What about it?"

"I'm a bit concerned at how they're acting with each other." Nemuri seemed to understand what he was trying to say as she did notice that those two had been very close for these past few months. It was obvious already that something fishy was in between their relationship.

"Midnight… you trust Inko right?"

"Of course… why would I not?"

"Nothing… just a question." He said as he moved on ahead whistling as he walked. Nemuri watched him move on with a bit of reluctance still with the thought of trusting Inko, but at least he wasn't as reprehensive about it than Aizawa was…

Some old wounds would take time to heal between them and Nemuri understood it best.

As for Toshinori and Inko, Nemuri smiled knowing that maybe that happiness that was lost with Hisashi was rekindled with Toshinori. Maybe.

* * *

At first, Izumi thought it would be something that the whole class would enjoy, since quirks were allowed in this physical test courtesy of Mr. Aizawa. They were all thrilled to learn that until he came in with another sinister explanation of his own. Which left the whole class, while still motivated and thrilled to continue, but also with the anxiety of the threat he just mentioned.

Yes, he had one good threat to keep everyone on edge.

And it was that whoever would score lowest in this series of exercises by the final count would automatically be expelled. Knowing that, most of the class was intimidated as soon as they heard that, coupled with Aizawa's less than friendly chaotic grin, it made Izumi feel a bit scared for herself.

Not everyone seemed to share her sentiment, but being a naturally worrisome person did make her feel anxious at how well she would do with this exercise. Since she already made a fool out of herself the entrance exam.

However, the seriousness that Aizawa said in regards to the situation of the class and hero course they were in did have a good point. Even with the seemingly harsh method of immediately proclaiming instant failure on anyone who would be left behind, his way of making them do their best was commendable on some aspects. It reminded her of how Gran Torino used to haze her into doing almost every situation where her quirks limits were used. She didn't like that, but she respected it.

This proved to be the same with Aizawa's method. So she told herself that if she got through with that series of hardships, she can manage to do so with this as well.

If the threat of expulsion was on the line, then she needed to damn well make sure that she would do her best. Her newly accustomed friends seemed to share that sentiment wholeheartedly. Even Himiko while still looking uninterested, had managed to curl her fist in ready.

Aizawa noted that there were eight consecutive tests… one exercise each to gauge the aptitude of one student in order for him to get a clear picture of how good they were with their quirk and how exactly he could nurture that potential in the hero course. This also included if he deemed it necessary to determine if the student can't pull through.

This also meant that he had on-hand instruments and devices to record and ascertain with pin point accuracy on how well the student does. Meaning, no data can be falsified.

With all that said, Izumi felt a bit more determined to push through with what she can do.

Unfairness was the reality she knew all too well throughout her life and as Aizawa explained the necessary sacrifice and hardships that came with UA's Hero Course, she knew she was going for a bumpy ride. A bumpy ride she rode from the very start.

UA wasn't kidding at how they're the top Hero School in this side of the world.

"Prove to me that your admission here wasn't a mistake..." Aizawa taunted at the end of his long speech. He smiled again with a hint of a sadistic side within him. Izumi gulped at that gesture, and the first ever test in this new semester of her school life began…

**TEST 1 – 50 Meter Dash**

Seeing Tenya earlier with this test made Izumi gawk in amazement. He breezed through the exercise with ease. The Engine-looking contraptions on his feet allowed him to reach speeds that got him to the end of the track in mere seconds. After that, most of her classmates did very much the same with varying techniques and styles with their own quirk set. Himiko, while naturally nimble was able to make it through with her physical prowess alone. Kyouka did so as well, but her being catching a breath at the end made her wonder if she did this kind of thing at all. One of the boys, Aoyama as Izumi had heard his name used a beam-like laser coming out of his abdomen to propel him to the end of the tract. The purple-haired boy from earlier with the weird stare whose name was Mineta used those ball-like structures on his head and stuck it to his feet. Allowing him to skip with how elastic it was. Uraraka used her quirk on her feet and hands to lessen the gravity in order to do the same maneuver.

Momo and Sylvia, competed with trying to make objects and devices to further speed. While it was a close call on both of them, it seemed like Sylvia managed to shave a second off of her record beating Momo in the process. Not that they minded, the two seemed to get along pretty well.

Izumi also got to see Shoto… at first she was surprised that they were in the same class but he breezed through the test being 2 seconds earlier than the other boy Sero whom he was paired with. Sero was the boy with the tape-like appendages on his arms.

When everyone was set and done, it was down to Izumi and Katsuki who were the last pair to do the test. As soon as they were called out to be the final pair, Izumi already felt his explosive companion excited to beat her with this exercise. Even though this wasn't meant to be a race nor a competition.

"I'll show how better my quirk is compared to yours Deku." He grinned evilly at her.

"Bring it! I'm not losing to you, you'll see." Izumi spat back. The wave of competitiveness when it came to Katsuki returning. A more than weird occurrence to those who never expected Izumi to act that way. Himiko simply cheered her on.

"Beat his ass Izu!"

Izumi and Katsuki got ready on both starting points. Aizawa who was at the end of tract waited until they got settled. Izumi thought of what to do with this exercise… luckily a thought came to mind as she recalled one of Kaguya's teachings.

"3…2…1… START!" The robot which was recording the test said out loud. Sputters of smoke and lightning seemed to form from the starting points of both students. Resulting in a haze that blocked most of everyone's view.

**BOOM!**

Katsuki's strategy was simple, aim his hands backwards to boost his speed moving forward. He satisfyingly looked in victory as he reached the end. He felt great showing 'Deku' that his quirk was in fact superior… only to see that as the smoke cleared… Izumi was standing beside him. A bead of sweat on her forehead and some crackling red energy coming out of her headband.

"3.89 Seconds!" this assessment, was for both of them.

"H-How?" Izumi grinned at him as she tried to slow her breath.

"Merely activating my quirk boosts my physical prowess as well Kacchan and I was taught a good trick on how to sprint faster in a small distance." Izumi explained as Katsuki was about to start a fight with her, only for Aizawa to call everyone to the next exercise.

Katsuki groaned in annoyance but did as the teacher said. Izumi had a triumphant grin on her face as he left. Only to be joined by Himiko who celebrated her victory.

**TEST 2 – Grip Test**

Izumi was amazed by her classmates who excelled in this phase of the exercise. The likes such as Sato whom after taking in sugar gained immense strength as a result. He was able to put on a high record of strength on his account with that quirk. Others such as Shouji, the boy who can manifest multiple appendages and body parts from his body was able to maximize the grip strength of his quirk by tenfold by stacking them up to each other.

Naturally, those like Katsuki were gifted with strength. Tokoyami, who had a very interesting and amazing quirk (according to Izumi) used his shadow-like familiar to do the strength test for him. While his records sky rocketed, he deemed that his quirk 'Dark Shadow' could do more in darker places or in night. Izumi took that into consideration as he watched each of this classmates, taking note to make entries of each of them in her journal later at home.

She then saw Sylvia and Mina being showed upon by Mineta and Sero, only for Sylvia to frown and make a mechanized construct on her right arm and deliberately broke Mineta's record. Which what he was trying to brag to the two girls. Mina laughed hysterically as they moved on.

Izumi smiled at that. It looked like the foreign girl was settling in pretty well.

Now, it was her turn as she looked at the grip device. Her strength levels were relatively low in her normal state. Due to the workout All Might gave her, she could only do above than average levels of strength when needed. But her quirk which she nicknamed as 'Black Whip' seemed to double her normal strength, enabling her to move objects and people twice her own. She recalled how efficiently she used it on the Practical. Here, she thought of doing the same but also she wanted to test how powerful her limits were because in strength levels… that stunt she did with the two enormous Zero Pointers was no joke.

It made her wonder if she can replicate it.

She charged up and wrapped her black tendrils on the grip device. She was going to surge enough power on to it, only to be stopped by a tap on the shoulder by none other than Aizawa.

"You shouldn't unleash such things close to your classmates. A real hero thinks about the safety of those around him first than his own. If you're a danger to those around you then I don't think your good enough to be a hero in the first place if you're that reckless." He said with an intense glare.

Izumi nodded. His words made her recall how All Might initially thought of her. This was different however and Izumi understood what he said.

"I won't sir."

He shrugged at her as he left while saying another few words of caution.

"Like I said earlier Midoriya… I'm watching you."

Izumi was left on her spot as her classmates were finishing up on their own tests. Izumi contemplated what Aizawa said to her and thought about how to mitigate her own strength. It was stupid of her to even think of that earlier. She knew that controlling her very volatile quirk was the key thing that Gran Torino and All Might taught her.

She would do the same here.

Doing it again while wrapping her tendrils on the device. She made a good grip without using her energy and she was satisfied at the result.

"464.57 Pounds"

As she smiled at her final result, Kyouka who came next to her suddenly couldn't believe her eyes at what she was seeing.

"That's bullshit! Those things weigh thousands of times more than that. Why didn't you give it your all?" Kyouka exclaimed, which drew the attention of her other classmates again. Making Izumi in the same spot as earlier in class. They were quickly dismissed by Aizawa again who scolded her for making a ruckus. Katsuki on the other end, once again frowned further at the amount of attention Izumi was getting.

He felt the same again back in Junior High, even though he said to Izumi that he wouldn't get mad at her for attracting attention again. His pride was wounded by this new development and it only increased his frustration on the girl.

**TEST 3 – Standing Long Jump**

Like prior tests, multiple strategies were used with how their quirks worked here. Thankfully, to Izumi this was a test that she mastered (according to her) from Kaguya who trained her for hours on end to quickly maneuver with quick nimbleness, speed, and efficiency. This allowed her to master how to scale vertical walls and how to launch herself with great distances. The advantage she learned from that she applied here…

With more than great results.

Like the Practical Exam, maximized the distance she could set out with her quirk. She made her black tendrils slam into the ground and hold with as much grip as possible. Setting her head in angle to lessen the effect of whiplash and efficiently readying her legs on a full jump, she let go of her hold on the ground and overshot the track that was being used.

She fell perfectly toes first into the ground with grace. Just like how Kaguya taught her.

A few of her classmates cheered her as she finished, but Izumi being introverted quickly dismissed them both in fear of Aizawa and how she didn't like being praised so much.

To Aizawa on that test, he was in fact impressed. As she only did the jump with technique overruling the usage of her quirk. It was instances like that which made him feel impressed on a less than usual basis. But, he still kept an eye on the girl as most of her earlier results were filled with setbacks and slip ups.

**TEST 5 – Ball Throw**

"DIE!" Katsuki roared as he threw the ball with an explosive caused by his hand. It propelled the ball to such heights that it was never seen again by the entire class. He did his all, pouring every inch of frustration and anger he had on Izumi after getting decent to high scores that sometimes eclipsed his own on the tests. The whole class felt a shiver after he said as he pointed at Izumi.

"BEAT THAT DEKU!"

Izumi merely stared at him with her tongue out as an insult. She didn't even seem remotely afraid. A thing that made everyone wonder as to why.

Moving on from that, everyone once again had varying techniques they used to propel the ball as high and long as they could reach. The best of them which was Uraraka scored a score of Infinity as the ball never came back down. A thing that Izumi was amazed at and began asking her a series of rapid questions that Uraraka had no ability to answer.

Himiko thankfully diffused the situation quickly before it spiraled out of control.

This time, it was her turn.

Aizawa gave her the ball as she stood at the base of where to throw it. She looked back at her classmates, finding most of them smiling at her. Including Shoto who did a thumbs up, but his expression didn't change. She frowned at that but got her attention back to the ball.

She was at a good distance from her classmates, and Aizawa did say that they needed to throw it as far as they can reach, but would he even allow that to her. To use the full extent of her quirk that had limits still not quantified?

Would he allow the risk?

Izumi reckoned that maybe she could… in a limited form. She tapped her headband as it glowed bright red. Her eyes turning into the vision mode that she used every so often. Turns out, they also allowed her to 'see' how much outage her quirk can give off. It came in handy in trying to quantify how much energy she can give out, this discovery was made accidentally when Himiko and her went on a movie together.

She charged up her hand as the black tendrils emerged from her.

As soon as she was readying herself to throw…

**BRZZZTTTTT!**

Izumi was knocked off her feet after a small explosion came from a stream of energy coming out of her hit something behind her. It turned off her quirk instantly, and as she looked back to see the source, she saw Mr. Aizawa standing while holding his head from a small headache.

She wondered what happened.

"Mr. Aizawa?" she said as she stood up. The man suddenly looked at his hand as relief settled in. he wondered what happened as well as he looked at Izumi. He was bewildered to have that interaction as the only thing he did was try to cancel the girl's quirk.

And it didn't work as intended.

Something sent a feedback to him when he put his eyes on the girl. Like something forced the influence of his quirk out from him. He made a mental note to say this to everyone later, as it was a crucial detail that needed discussion.

"Mr. Aizawa?"

"What have I told you Midoriya? You were going to try that same stunt I warned you about earlier. People are in a distance yes… but with how your quirk worked at full power in the Entrance Exam, I can't condone possible danger to happen to your fellow classmates." He scolded.

"R-Right… I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it young lady. I warned you before not to cause a ruckus and you've done that for a series of consecutive times that I don't even think it's gotten under that thick skull of yours how much of a problem you are." his mood continued to go serious.

"B-But sir…"

"No buts. I wanted you to be better than that. You have skill and talent and I see that very well but since you're a danger and a liability to those around you, I don't know if I can allow you to continue here at UA."

Izumi's eyes widened in fear.

"Mr. Aizawa please… I can't-"

Aizawa was now walking back. Having zero care for the girl who was now pleading at him.

"You have one more chance Midoriya. Prove to me that you can control that quirk of yours and I may reconsider." He left with an ominous and foreboding tone. Izumi now felt bad about herself. Her classmates who didn't know what was going on started to worry for her.

She made a series of stupid mistakes. Mistakes that she thought she was done with back when she trained with her mentors. She hated this feeling, the failure to live up to the trust those people put on her. She grabbed the ball with a bit of frustration as she thought of her misdeeds.

_"You've always been worthy Young Midoriya… even back then, I was foolish enough not to see it. But here you are." _All Might's words echoed through her and she finally calmed down.

With an idea that would solve her problem.

"What is she doing?" Kyouka asked as everyone in the field saw Izumi hold out her arm, letting her black tendrils wrap around the ball partially and in the next second she was twirling the tendrils in a volley. She picked up speed as she moved her arm to double the strength and pace on each roundabout.

Katsuki and Shoto watched in interest while Himiko smiled at Izumi. Knowing what was to come next. Momo wondered why the blonde girl was smiling and as she was about to ask, the speed on Izumi's volley was increasing rapidly to the point that wind started to blow on each revolution of the ball.

As she did this, small to medium torrents of red energy funneled into the black tendrils as well as the ball. As it turned with such great speeds, it left an afterimage of something glowing in a circle with the energy intensifying only slightly and the wind current rapidly expanding. Everyone covered their eyes as they saw Izumi's eyes glow in intensity and her face full of a tightened expression. Gritting her teeth to ready one last roundabout Izumi screamed to release the ball.

**BWOOOOM!**

The ball launched high up into the sky so fast that it took less than a second to reach to heights where it was never seen again. The dust cleared around Izumi and she looked up the sky, smiling in victory. Her arm was a bit bruised but otherwise okay.

"I feel so small… and useless…" the blonde electric quirk user, Kaminari said as some of the boys behind him patted his back because of how he felt.

She looked at her classmates who were just as stunned as she was with how fast and far the ball went out. That volley didn't use much of her destructive electric field but more so with the technique she used by making her whip-like appendages as a volley to assist with the throw. Letting physics and gravity to take the speeds faster, Izumi perfectly guessed how the outcome would transpire, yet was amazed by how it came out.

She looked at Aizawa who had his eyes widen in appeasement.

"D-Did I do good Mr. Aizawa?" Izumi asked as she huffed for a breath.

The only answer he gave her was a smile and Izumi knew that she managed to pull it off.

* * *

16:37 Hours…

"Is this what being proud feels like?" Inko asked Toshinori as they returned to the office after watching Izumi a few hours earlier in the field. To say that she was amazed was an understatement. They didn't catch the other field tests conducted by Aizawa but they were there when Izumi did the ball throw and like Inko, Toshinori shared the sentiment. He was amazed at how she pulled that off, while also managing to lessen the blow her quirk had on her system.

With how Aizawa acted after that short event, it seemed like he was pleased as well. He smiled knowing that she managed to pull through yet again with Aizawa. He now wondered if there was anything the girl couldn't do (in terms not of her quirk that is).

"Oh God… his face. I can remember the last time he made a face like that. It was when he finally beat Hisashi on an arcade game back in the day. He looked so happy it made me laugh how he smiled…" Inko said as she laughed afterwards. Toshinori did so as well after.

"She still manages to amaze me… I don't even know how she does it." Toshinori admitted.

"I don't think it's possible losing faith in her. She still makes me surprised with how much she's already accomplished. He would have been proud if he saw her." Inko said, with the tone of her voice Toshinori knew who she was referring to.

"Yeah." He simply said.

"What's the matter?" Inko asked, noticing the change of tone in his voice.

"It's nothing…"

"For real?" Inko teased. He giggled at her as Inko smiled. It felt great seeing that smile he mused. It had been a long day for both of them after watching Izumi in the field. When classes ended about an hour ago they continued to discuss with Nezu about a few other complications. It turned out good at the end but this also raised a meeting from Aizawa who had something to say about Izumi's quirk. Frankly speaking, they were only waiting in the office room now for that meeting.

Nemuri also said that Izumi said goodbye to her, with a group of new friends accompanying her home. Inko wasn't going to stop that, in fact the both of them were pleased to know that Izumi was less of an unsociable person now and that she was finding a common ground to ease in within UA.

Inko even managed to talk to Nemuri, musing that they should celebrate later when they go home for the girl's first day in school. It was met with a mixed response as Toshinori was busy that night and Nemuri had a list of things to do with her classes the next day.

Luckily, it seemed like they agreed to compromise a bit.

"Can I ask you to wear your costume later? Might make Izumi feel a bit better seeing you in your stupid looking suit." Inko teased.

"Hey… people like that suit."

"I don't… so can you do it?" Toshinori sighed at her reply but nodded. It made the woman giggle a little so he couldn't say no otherwise.

"I could buy her some of her favorite cookies later-" she continued to talk about plans this night but as he was listening in, he felt his phone vibrate. He took it and saw that the caller was his former sidekick, the hero Nighteye.

"Hey… are you listening?" Inko said.

"Sorry… I'll just take this call. Excuse me." He then smiled at her as Inko rolled her eyes. He motioned himself near the window and accepted the call.

Inko having left in her thoughts tried to think of what to do later. Her mind then wandered to Izumi, and by checking the time on her watch she knew that the girl would be home by now at this hour. She looked at the red flower placed on the desk.

She felt a bit of happiness knowing that the flower was Izumi's favorite. Toshinori had been nice enough to leave a small reminder of Izumi in his office and she liked that dearly.

She looked at Toshinori after in the window…

Then the mood changed.

"What? What do you mean? D-Does it involve-" he said to the phone. Inko lost her smile when he seemed genuinely concerned about something. The way his face contorted made it downright obvious that something big was going on.

"Toshinori… what is it?" she asked.

"Wait just a second…" he replied to her as he seemed agitated and worried. Inko was about to ask again when she heard her phone vibrate. As soon as she took it out, her heart almost dropped. It was a text from Izumi and apparently… this had been the sixth text she sent. The most recent one read:

**"MOM CALL ME PLEASE!"**

The text message was clear on the screen. Inko suddenly felt fear course through her veins as panic overtook her. She quickly dialed Izumi's number and the call was almost instantly taken.

And Izumi's voice was full of panic.

"Izumi, what's going on? C-Calm down I can't understand you." Inko said as Izumi's voice seemed to be in panic. The girl calmed herself for a bit before replying back to her.

"M-Mom… t-there's a dead body. In our living room."

END OF CHAPTER 11

**AN: Sorry for the lengthy wait... I had to do a bit of revisions on the ending and this is a lengthier chapter to compensate for that. I hope you enjoyed since this time there will be two sidestories after this. I'm excited to show you what both are since they're pretty significant to the plot as to what's happening here at the ending. Heh.**

**Keep Yourselves safe guys! and I'll see you in the next few posts...**

**NEXT CHAPTER: "Small Complications" - Izumi is left with a large question and as time goes on her quirk seems to have a problem that makes it harder to control when she removes the headband. Inko and Toshinori are left with a foreboding threat as someone or a group of people are starting to move against them.**

**SIDESTORY 8 & 9 Coming soon!**


	20. SideStory 8: The Red Flower

**NOTE: This takes place hours before the events of Chapter 11**

**Oh and Heyyyy... we reached 9100+ views! Thanks Guys :)**

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SideStory #8

"The Red Flower"

00:41 Hours, Undisclosed Location…

A compound in the middle of a small industrial section in Shizuoka, Japan was being monitored by prying eyes. Intelligence reports have been surrounding the compound for days. Men and women who are watched on as they enter and exit the compound had been noted and recorded with each passing hour. The reason being, was that something was amiss with this small 'plastic factory' that kept pulling in individuals and known suspects in the criminal world. Far too much activity was going inside that compound and with various reports from spies and accounts from civilians encountering the mysterious area, it was time for the authorities to take action.

That… and because multiple sightings of bodies being wrapped and disposed in that compound were seen and accredited by multiple sources. Some even indicate that most of the 'volunteers' entering the compound never come out again.

Something was happening inside and time will tell what will happen next.

Only this time, that threat was being dealt with.

It was midnight, townsfolk in the nearby neighborhood was soundly sleeping. A few activities in the road was noted, but more or less stagnant in terms of number. Sounds only came from cars that drove by and the rustle of leaves and insects in the night. The compound was lit but was seen with less activity. Unlike most nights, the building inside had nothing going on.

But guards holding rifles in hand patrolled every entrance and exit. The compound which was encircled by walls on all sides with two gates both as an exit at the back and an entrance in the front. Two buildings lay inside the walls, because of the height of the structures, it was near impossible to get a good vantage point from outside to look in. Guards were also stationed in two wall hubs. One from the south and one from the north. Both were manned by two men, with instant access to radio and alarms in case any intruders would dare go inside.

In daylight, most of these guards were reduced by half to lower suspicion. It didn't work of course as most were still able to discern that something fishy was going on inside.

One of these guards, was watching on the north side inside the tower hub. His partner had gone on a small break but would return in a few minutes. Holding his weapon at the ready with one hand close to the trigger, he kept watch as his colleagues below quietly sat in silence on an otherwise normal night. He had fish-like scales on his neck and eyes that were green, allowing him to see clearly than anyone in the darkness. A very detailed picture came into view with his surroundings as he expanded his gaze, not letting anything to escape his eyes.

"HRMPH!"

Only for a set of gloved hands to grab him by his mouth and pull him to the ground. Overpowering him. The assailant had a helmet on along with military-grade gear strapped around his body. He had specialized equipment strapped around his back and he held on to the guard as tight as he could.

As he continued to squirm, the assailant moved his head to see the other tower in view.

A small flash of light that flickered two times was seen and he got his answer. Both wall hub centers were secure. Without bolstering any activity nor reaction from those below, the assailant kept his hand on the guard tight as he pressed a button on his helmet. The blackened visor that covered his head opened slightly revealing his emerald eyes as he attempted to make communication.

"Ronin, headcount and status…" he said to the communicator placed on his helmet.

"All Clear…" one in the channel said.

"All Clear on radar…" another said.

A sound of someone being gagged was heard on the radio. It made him flinch slightly.

"All Clear… Forced Dispatch noted."

He groaned a bit after hearing that but accepted it as he held on to his target forcibly by the mouth. He needed to wait for one more call sign from one more member that hadn't responded yet.

"Ronin, headcount and status." He reaffirmed.

Finally, a voice came through, but the sound of something being stabbed was heard.

"All Clear… Forced Dispatch on my position. Someone had snuck on me."

"Noted…" he responded. He then checked the time on his watch placed on the hand he kept on the guard he was holding tightly. It was nearly 1 AM, and spending more minutes trying to hold their position would blow their operation.

"Amaterasu, has HQ given a greenlight?' he asked.

"Give me a second…"

A few seconds pass, and suddenly he heard movement from down below. Something was stirring. He grew anxious as his hold on the guard never wavered.

"Green Light. We're live." Amaterasu called back.

"Copy that. Commencing operation. Everyone keep your heads up. We do this quickly and silently." He ordered. Everyone responded with their individual call signs.

"Oni, commencing operation…"

"Jorogumo en route…"

"Futakuchi-Onna, waiting for Execute order."

"Amaterasu, Ready."

He then then locked eyes with the guard he was holding. His visor went down and he grabbed a knife with his free hand. He looked at the guard and with a swift stab to his jugular, he died without even understanding what was going on.

**TSLK!**

He wiped the knife on his forearm. He looked up and turned on the small beam of light on his wrist. Flickering three times as the other team member in the wall hub at the other side perched herself on top and threw a device on the courtyard.

As soon as it hit…

"Everyone secure comlinks now." he ordered. The moment he said that, one of the guards below noticed the device and was about to check it, until a screeching sound blew at full volume upon the entire compound.

**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

It managed to rattle most of the guards below as the leader of the operation, the one who gave out orders sent the message out with four flickers of his signal light. The team member, Amaterasu perched on the other wall hub assembled her sniper rifle with quick haste and aimed at both guards securing the main gate. They were too stunned by the still ongoing screeching sounds coming from their communication devices that they failed to notice two of their colleagues getting killed by two successful shots in the head.

Amaterasu did the same on two others in the back, and before those below could notice it, the team leader turned on his secured communication link to Futakuchi-Onna, who was waiting for the execute order outside the main gate.

"Order given." He said to her as he aimed his gun towards the guard who was coming back to his post to check on his partner in the wall hub he was in. Before he could retaliate, the team leader managed to put him down with two successive shots. He shot a third bullet to secure that he was dead.

Most of the guns used by his team were silenced, making it hard for the enemy to know where the shots came from. This also masked what was to come next.

"Charge in place… Three, two, one..."

**BWOOM!**

A miniaturized charge of explosive blew up on the main gate, the remaining 4 guards defending the main gate open fired. A black-suited figure then jumped from behind and stuck two knives on the guards in the back. Those who were firing in front, were about to react to the sudden attack until the gates opened, and out came a similarly dressed figure with armor plates covered all around her. she carried a riot shield and slammed it in front of them.

In a quick second, something mechanical opened from the helmet she was wearing and out came elongated strands of hair that quickly wrapped themselves on the two guards firing at her as she deflected with her shield. The two men were quickly dispatched of, with a quick snap to the necks as their heads rolled lopsidedly from their bodies. She quickly retreated the hair as her helmet closed shut.

She collapsed the shield into something smaller as she nodded at her team member who dispatched the two on the back.

She then called it in.

"Futakuchi-Onna, Successful breach…" she said into the comlink.

"Jorogumo, moving to next position." Her team member said as he ran towards the wall hub where their leader was. Suddenly a door opened beside her and a gun aimed at her head.

"DO AS I SAY OR I'LL SHOOT YOUR-"

**SPLAT!**

The man's head exploded into bloody pieces and she saw Amaterasu at her vantage point saluting her. She wiped the blood off of her armor as she went to the next position.

"You had to use explosive rounds huh? I'll get you later bitch." She said in the comlink.

"Try your best Princess…" Amaterasu replied back as he aimed his gun to the entrance near her where three guard were about to aim their gun at her, only for them to be pushed back when a portion of the gate was blown back by someone who punched through.

A large figure in armor stood in front of the three. They opened fire as bullet after bullet tried to pierce the armor. The figure crossed its arms to block it and reached the nearest person. It then threw a punch that pierced the man's chest clean through as blood came out. It then threw the man it punched and it crashed on them.

The large figure then grabbed its handgun and with two shots to both heads, it was able to take care of them easily. It then waved at Amaterasu who was up ahead as its visor opened.

"Oni, Successful Breach." it said to the comlink, revealing itself as this massive woman.

"Great. You know your directives. Amaterasu, Jorogumo, you're with me on the main building. Futakuchi-Onna and Oni you're on the secondary building. Kill orders issued, if intel is found you know what to do." The team leader said as Amaterasu collapsed her rifle and moved to join the others. The other two breachers which joined up nodded at each other as they spotted the secondary building.

The team leader and his two other subordinates reached the main door of the main building. It was wooden and easy to breach. They were about to go in until the team leader grabbed a nearby rock, threw it at the door and as soon as he did…

Gunfire stormed from the inside.

Luckily they were able to dodge in time as Amaterasu was on the right side of the door while he and Jorogumo were in the left side. He looked at Jorogumo as he aimed his rifle on the side of the door.

"Do it." he ordered through the comlink. Jorogumo then took a small cylindrical device from his belt and threw it on the door. The device clung to it and settled in.

Sounds of smaller blinding explosives entered the other side in three separate flashbang-like flares. It blinded and momentarily disabled the hearing of everyone inside.

"Visors down." The team leader ordered as another layer of a black veil-like glass slided down on their helmets. Except for Jorogumo, who positioned himself at the front of the door and opened his helmet's visor. Revealing his pitch-black eyes. He spread his arms out towards the structure and a sound was heard.

**FWASH!**

Everyone inside the building suddenly lost all manner of vision from their eyes. The only thing they could see was nothing but pitch-black darkness. Seeing that enough seconds were spent preparing, the team leader and Amaterasu who were immune to their subordinate's quirk because of their special gear, took position at the door and with two gunshots… both aimed at the two locks on the door.

He then kicked it off and with no hesitation, both he and Amaterasu shot down three targets on the door. Being that they were blind they were put down easily without them even knowing what happened. Jorogumo who joined them, used his knife to stab those who were downed. Ensuring their deaths. They moved down a corridor that lead towards two rooms on either side and a main door at the end of it. The team leader signaled both to enter both pathways.

Amaterasu, gunned down the locks on her side and entered. A gunman shot her in the direction where door was, but surprisingly each shot only landed on her with little to no damage. Her eyes underneath the helmet glowed in slight orange as her free hand seemed to allow he to control the bullet's heat, successfully losing speed the moment it hits her.

She ducked to the next wall as the gunman emptied his clip. She then stood up and shot him with a handgun. This time, the bullet was superheated because of her quirk as she amplified it. Allowing the top of the man's head to rupture violently. Leaving a splat on the wall.

She grinned beneath her helmet as she saw that no one else was inside the room.

"Room is clear on my end."

"Clear on my side as well, I can only see papers here… some computers. I'll collect them when we're done." Jorogumo said on his side. The team leader called them back to the main hall as he successfully broke the door.

Amaterasu took front as she slowly walked inside. Their helmet allowed a full night vision view, so even though it was dark inside this building, they could see clearly. Amaterasu moved to the right with her secondary rifle, the team leader too left as Jorogumo was left guarding the door.

As they moved in, a sudden change of environment was seen. Lab equipment of various sorts were broken down here. It looked the moment they were notified inside of their presence a 'clean slate' protocol had been made to wipe out all data and research. Thankfully, everything wasn't broken fully (likely because of the blindness) and the more they went in, the more mysterious the building became.

Pictures of various… subjects were on the wall.

Anatomies, x-rays and organs were being preserved in jars. Multiple fluids of unknown origins continued to stack up. Various chemical formulas and maths were placed on a nearby whiteboard.

"This doesn't look like a plastic factory to me boss…" Amaterasu commented.

The team leader suddenly stumbled upon a surgical table, which was wrapped in cloth. He moved the fabric off with the tip of his rifle, only to see a grotesque looking face and head that welcomed him.

He moved back a bit in surprise, but saw that it was dead somehow. Its face was split into. As rows and rows of teeth seemed to emanate from both sides of the half. Blood was seeping out in droplets from within eye sockets that looked to be gouged out. It was disgusting as puss was coming out of it as well. Maggots also seemed to nibble on the neck of the dead body.

"Uh boss? You're gonna want to see this." Amaterasu said. The team leader then moved to Amaterasu's position. He wondered what she wanted to see for him, and as she pointed the flashlight on a corner of the room, his eyes opened wide in shock.

The reason being was…

That multiple, grotesque-looking bodies of men and women were hanged on meat hooks in one side of the room. There was at least ten of them and were completely nude as necrosis seemed to prematurely start on their pale bodies.

Sounds of flies were also heard.

It disturbed the two whom were looking at it in shock.

"Jesus… what the hell were they doing here?" Amaterasu said.

"I don't know… we should make sure to clear this area first so we can call in-"

Lights inside the building opened suddenly. The two opened their visors to find Jorogumo being thrown at their direction. Amaterasu pushed the team leader away as she caught the man into her arms. They both crashed to the floor in a swift thud.

The team leader groaned as he stood up. He then saw what they were dealing with, a man with what seemed to have four arms and a large muscular build was standing where Jorogumo guarded the entry way. Being saved from the blindness he looked at the team leader, eyes full of rage and killing instinct. The team leader aimed his rifle and tried to shoot the enemy, only for the large man to grab a metal table near him and was able to defend himself from all the shots he made.

Closing the distance between them he tried to ram him.

The team leader dodged and was about to aim the gun only for it to be grabbed and thrown away by the large man. He then kicked him to the nearby wall.

**CRASH!**

The wall cracked behind him and he felt some of his ribs broke from the impact. The large man never relented however and was about to break his head with a powerful punch as he closed the distance again. The team leader swerved his head in time to evade the punch as he quickly grabbed his knife and tried to stab the large man.

"AAARRGHHH!" he screamed as knife got through his other arm multiple times. As he was about to land a destructive stab again on his knee, the team leader was grabbed by his hand and his other arm by the large man.

"AAAGGHH!" he said as the grip tightened on both his arms.

"DROP IT!" the large man screamed. The team leader never relented as he held on the knife tightly. His enemy however never hesitated, he tightened his grip further as pain came on the team leader's arms. His armor on his arm breaking to the sheer strength of his enemy.

**SNAP!**

His arms snapped in ease. His suit tore and revealed his broken bones protruding from it. Blood funneled out as the team leader howled in pain.

The large man smiled at his pain as he aimed one of his four arms on the team leader's helmet. Only to be grabbed by the shoulder by a strong arm and having thrown him across the room. He crashed amongst containers of unknown chemicals and the team leader looked up to see Oni, grabbing him to make him stand.

"You could have come earlier…" he said through the comlink.

A giggle was heard as his arms continued to spew blood.

"We were busy." Futakuchi-Onna said as she entered, her helmet opened up again and her hair elongated and strengthened themselves to grab the man on all his arms and limbs. The man thrashed in infamy as Oni came in. She cracked her knuckles and landed blow after blow on the man. Her punches made so much impact that small miniaturized shockwaves of dust appeared with each hit.

The last punch managed to stun the enemy as most of his teeth were knocked out. Leaving him in a bloody pulp. The team leader, who miraculously healed all his wounds (even snapping his bones in place) because of his rapid regeneration quirk, walked towards his teammates. He moved first to Amaterasu who was nursing a dazed Jorogumo. He then gestured his hand towards her, and she nodded while pulling a small shotgun from her bag and giving it to him.

He then walked to the four-armed madman and aimed the shotgun on his face.

**BOOM!**

He gave the gun to Oni as Futakuchi-Onna released the madman from his grasp. Shutting her helmet off as the operation was successful. Everyone in the building was dead and secured. He then took off his helmet, revealing grayish hair and an adult face as most of his teammates did the same. He frowned as he saw the entire laboratory which made operations here.

The various misdeeds on human life were laid bare for everyone to see. It wasn't just the disposed and hooked bodies that made everyone's spines crawl in shock. There was something else, people in what seemed to be tubes pumped with a red fluid that resembled blood was seen. They all varied in looks too and as the team leader walked amongst them with various simple descriptions placed on the liquid containers, he saw that each individual pumped by this fluid had a quirk for each of them.

They were also labeled with writing that made him confused.

**"Prototype PROJECT NOMU/TEST #2"**

It was etched on all them in numerical order as Amaterasu walked towards him.

"Akaname, I mean boss… do we call it in?"

He stumbled upon a nearby table that was close to these containers, a bulletin board that was taken off the wall was revealed. A picture and a vial of that red fluid was there for him to see. A picture of All Might smiling on the camera…

With a redhead girl smiling shyly beside him.

A note was placed next to the picture. It read:

_**"Formula is insufficient. Further blood samples needed. Replicating the quirk gene from the blood given to us has proved impossible. Further study is needed to ensure success…"**_

Seeing the peculiar writing, he took it along with the picture and he held the vial as well. Giving it to Amaterasu who was waiting for his reply.

"Call it in… and tell HQ once they're here to get me an appointment to Sir Nighteye's agency. I need to speak to him about this, since All Might hasn't been available in his own agency."

"Noted sir… but, why do you need to take that appointment?" he then showed her the picture, pointing at the shyly smiling redhead girl. Amaterasu then read the note that was attached to it.

"Because of her."

* * *

3:23 Hours, Somewhere in Aldera…

Himiko Toga was sleeping on her bed, but something was rustling her from sleep. She angrily woke up with tired eyes as she saw her phone being called on by a number unregistered on her phone. She groaned in annoyance as she took the call.

"What is it?"

"We need a new sample from the subject." The voice from the phone said.

Himiko's eyes widened.

"I already gave you enough. You told me the blood I took from her was sufficient."

"We've had complications… and we can pay you back handsomely again if you do so. Our deal is still in works you know." Himiko hesitated as she heard that.

"I-I don't know if I can give a sample to you this week."

"Can it not be negotiated?"

"I just don't know." Himiko said in worry. Both for herself and her 'best friend' Izumi.

"That's a shame… we'll have to take it from her with force then."

Himiko began to panic.

"NO! That wasn't the deal. I'll handle it okay? Just don't hurt her, you don't need to-"

"We have no intention of killing her, only to get a sample. But since you already said that you are not available to take up arms against her now, then we have no choice on that matter."

"NO! YOU CAN'T JUST-"

"I believe this conversation is finished. We'll talk again to renegotiate terms between us."

Himiko was about to respond back when the line went dead. She angrily threw her phone on the floor as her mind went into panic… as today was the first day of UA and she can't pull Izumi into this mess that early.

She simply can't.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 12

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**AN: I hope you liked this small sidestory. It has important plot details after all hehe... As for the new OCs here, I based them on the real-life special forces unit of Japan called SAT. SAT is also a playable faction in the Ubisoft game Rainbow Six Siege that I like playing often (Hibana best girl, lol). It made sense to me that law enforcement in that age, with quirks being used... I thought that it would make sense for governments of the world to use real and live-working operatives with special skills and quirks for stealth incursion missions done by SFs. Which lead me to make this sidestory as it also reveals a lot to the plot. As for the team here, they won't probably appear in the main story for a while or at all... as I dont know how to fit them yet. But I do like the process in creating them which was fun. If you want me to, I can expand a bit on what their quirks are in the next AN for the next upcoming Sidestory.**

**And yes, their names are based on Japanese Mythological figures... kinda cool to know about them too tbh.**

**Like always I hope you enjoyed and see you next time in one more important Sidestory... Stay tuned.**


	21. SideStory 9: Lurking

SideStory #9

"Lurking"

**CRACK!**

A muffled scream howled in the empty halls of the Midoriya Household.

**SCHLICK-CRACK!**

Sounds of bones breaking was heard. The littered rooms of someone who came inside which rattled the peaceful silence was seen everywhere. Pictures, notebooks, and belongings of a girl named Izumi Midoriya was on the floor. Locked rooms down the small hallway in this rather large apartment were forced open.

A muffled plead to stop was heard as more cracking noises continued.

**CRACK!**

Bits of blood were on the living room as the person who came to barge into this place was laid on the floor… while someone else was breaking their fingers one by one with ease.

"STOP! Please… it hurts!" the person said, revealed to be a fair-length woman with her arms tied to her back as she was placed on the floor in a prone position. Her fingers, six of them were already broken and were lopsided in place. Some of them had already grown dark in color and some had open wounds where trickles of blood were dripping.

"I beg y-you… please stop."

The other person, who was straddling the woman was also feminine. She had long black hair and eyes that had the combination of firmness and playfulness laced within them. She placed her hand over the middle finger of the right hand. Pulling it up slowly as the woman below her pleaded further to stop.

"P-Please! Please! Don't- **CRACK **–AAAhhhh…" tears had now accumulated on her eyes as the woman above straddling her pursed her lips in interest to her wails.

"I-I'll do anything you want! Please…"

"Anything?" the woman on top finally said.

"Y-Yes! Anything!" she cried out desperately.

"Would you die for me then? Possibly in one of the best ways I can think of?"

"W-What?"

The woman leaned closer into her ear. Shivers of fear took over as it seemed like the pain of losing her fingers was immutable to the looming new threat this woman beckoned on her.

"You heard me precious… since you've ruined my mistress' experiment. There's no way I can let you live and the mess you made? Amateurish. I would have thought twice in hiring you… heh." She said critically with a soft smile that immediately turned into something expressionless. The woman then took something out of her pockets, it was long gloves that covered almost the entirety of her arm. She then placed the gold-chained monocle on her blind eye.

She flipped the woman over. Now seeing her face full of fear. She then took a handkerchief from her pocket and stuffed it into the woman's mouth. Muffling her screams to a very low volume. She then held both cheeks into her own as her thumbs shadowed over her eyelids.

"I've never tried this… so maybe you'll enlighten me?" she said to the woman.

The woman on the floor began squirming as she gently placed her thumbs on the eyelids.

And pressed.

…

Moments later, only one person was alive. Feeling unsatisfied, she cleaned her gloves after freeing the intruder from her suffering. She walked back and studied the woman's belongings, true enough it seemed like this person was trying to scrape DNA samples of Izumi Midoriya in this house. She began to think that maybe this needed advice from Juno.

She was completely given control of this mission, but encountering thugs… thugs that were actively trying to get DNA from the special girl. This was no random occurrence and right as expected from her mistress Juno, things were moving faster once those with knowledge found out.

She stood up looking over the possible crime scene.

She had to clean this up as best she can. Should Inko Midoriya find out about this, there would be further complications moving forward. She looked into the room and thought that she couldn't clean all of this mess in time before Izumi would arrive from school. Or any of them at all that live in this household. However, risking that Inko would think this is _their _doing would also further complicate things.

So leaving the body here would suffice. Minimizing the damage and directly making this look like a scuffle from thieves was the scene she was going for. Taking the DNA samples in hand so she could dispose of them later.

She also needed to stall for time. Luckily, she brought up the communication device she shared with Io, who could be walking with Izumi from school to go home at this hour. She made sure to wear it and brought up a message as quick as she could muster.

"Delay her… Something came up on her apartment. We need to make sure its eased first before she arrives home." A series of clicks deciphered as Morse code responded back.

She nodded to the response as she got back to work.

The moment she did however, a knock on the door was heard. Two people asking in slight worry and panic to 'hurry it up" came from the outside.

Nemain felt that this would work to her advantage.

She cracked her knuckles as she put on her gloves again.

* * *

16:15 Hours, Nighteye Agency…

The visit from an old colleague of Mirai a few hours ago left him in a bit of a stir. His workload was already piled up after doing investigations on some organizations that were dealing in the black Market within his city. A few organizations to note, one of them being the Shie Hassakai was under his watch among others. While nothing of sorts could give evidence that either they or another group was conducting these deals, it still left a large headache for him to try and solve.

Now, he was given classified information as well as evidence that could help open up a new case. Unfortunately, it also meant that secrecy was needed. Based on how his colleague from SAT coined it, it seemed like this was for something big that nobody had been able to be aware of… until now.

Something big that if proven would bring about such chaos that he himself hoped to stop. If it was a threat that was as big as the words of his colleague had said, then he was in for another headache-inducing case.

The one other reason he was sought after was because of his connections to All Might as well as the picture that was found on the compound with the vial and notes attached to it. He then realized that this factory or laboratory they found could be related to _him_.

Of course Nighteye knew what the appearance of _him _meant. This was one of the reasons why he was pulled into this new case so fast. As the appearance of _him _could mean that one of his visions could come fruit soon.

He hoped not.

As of now, he was waiting for someone to come and take a look at his specimen. The vial that was given to him as a token of good will. This also meant that he needed to take this with a bit secrecy, trusting only those that can help relieve this case for them to know better. He was entrusted by his mutual friend in the SAT to make sure and find what the vial and the picture meant as well as figuring out why this DNA sample was so important to the grand scheme of things. He also wondered how this girl could be related to All Might as he and him have never spoken about her at all.

He had seen footage of the Slime Villain incident. He was very much impressed by how it all worked out but could see the flaws in the girl's initiative and stupidity barging into a hot zone like that. However, it seemed All Might was far too happy and impressed by the girl as the first time they talked about it, he couldn't stop mentioning the girl at all.

Mirai tried to remember what the girl's name was.

But he could only remember the surname Midoriya. He ran that name for his sidekicks to investigate and so far it hasn't come back yet. He didn't mind however, as waiting was the only thing he needed to do right now.

Patience for the arrival of a client he wished to talk about with the vial he was holding.

He re-adjusted his glasses thinking about this. About how this all fits… and with the description of people being mutilated, transformed, and experimented on inside that compound his colleague had raided, he could feel that this was just the start. Especially since the note had **Prototype #2 **written on it. Meaning that older models exist. But what exactly were they creating there? What exactly is the reason that bodies of mutilated corpses are being used on in heinous ways?

Why do they need to find this DNA sample? Why was the girl's DNA needed?

Could it be the quirk she held? No, Mirai didn't think of that. The girl's quirk was actually something that was fairly common. Electric-based quirks were numerous and the girl while having different colored electricity, did not seem to be different at all.

So how do these disjointed pieces of the puzzle fit? Why did he feel that All Might was involved in this? If this was evidence of _him _showing up, then what purpose did the girl serve him for?

A thousand questions.

With little to no answers.

He massaged the temples of his head as he thought about it. Maybe he could see All Might's future again as soon as he meets him. A lot of pieces in the chessboard were changed and Mirai knew that it was only time for the enemy to make his next move.

Whatever it was, he hoped that time was still their ally.

**KNOCK! KNOCK!**

"Sir? Dr. Kiragami has arrived. May we enter?" the voice of his sidekick Bubblegirl was heard from the other side of the door to his office. He fixed his suit and hair for the occasion before letting them in.

Bubblegirl swiftly opened after the permission and humbly made her exit as he gave the two men privacy. Mirai stood up from his seat to greet a person of interest that he called in for investigation on the vial. The CEO and head scientist of the world-renowned pharmaceutical and medicinal research company Kiragami Labs. For the past few years, the medicinal side of the current Quirk Era had been graced by this man's genius. Almost all known diseases that ravaged the human body both pre-Quirk Era and post were nearly eradicated to nothingness because of his company's research. They had single-handedly revolutionized the health industry of the world in a few short decades. Now, while not the top Health Organization in the world anymore, they still held credit for their continuous research on new diseases and how to combat them.

Dr. Kiragami was also the go-to researcher for the Quirk Gene in Japan, making him an influential and important figure both in the health industry and out of it.

His gray hair marked by his signature indigo eyes was impossible to miss. The man looked well enough for his age, a white suit that was opposite to Mirai's dark gray. He seemed less than thrilled to eb called here, as his fake smile gave it away as soon as Bubblegirl left the room.

After exchanging greetings and a handshake they both seated themselves. Nighteye remained behind his desk and the doctor was on the chair facing it. He drummed his fingers on the desk as he let his smile drop from earlier.

"Why did you call me Sir Nighteye?"

"You sound so displeased. I thought we agreed on keeping each other civil Kiragami." Mirai said as he joined both his hands while looking at him. The doctor grumbled in response.

"Get on with it… I still got an important meeting to attend. I only gave myself time to visit you because your request… had too much of an incentive that ignoring it would cost me greatly." He said in annoyance. His stature and resolve faltering a bit, his emotions seeping out.

Mirai notices this very well.

"Don't you go and be angry with me Kiragami. The case against the treatment of your daughter is still a thing I could pull strings with and re-open. Your case may be solved and proven guilty, but I know not all your lawyers can keep sending lies to the public." Mirai threatened.

This made the doctor flinch but his brow still angry at him.

"While we're talking about the girl, may I ask what is this meaning you need to attend to? You're not planning on using her again aren't you?" Mirai added.

"N-No… I've never touched her since."

"Good… at least that's not a problem between us."

The doctor suddenly narrowed his eyes on him.

"If this is about her again… I told you. I did what needed to be done with her. I'm not guilty with myself for using her as a means to further my company's success. You've seen what her quirk is Sir Nighteye, and you know that if it benefits humanity then why don't we use her? I've already saved so many lives in the past decade. One life to repay the salvation of millions is a cost I'm willing to take."

Hearing that from him made Mirai substantially angered.

Kiragami's company was drawn by numerous success on research with medicine. Most of the research was made from his very own daughter's quirk. A scandal that still made Mirai furious since it hasn't been proven with the lack of evidence and the skill of his company's lawyers. It was years since the last trial and even with the evidence he had provided, the result was still guilty on his behalf.

"Even if it costs the innocent life of your daughter… you really are sick in the mind. Should I get proof of what you've done with her. Your empire will crumble to nothing doctor. Think of that before lecturing me on what necessary sacrifices mean." Mirai threatened.

"Regardless Sir Nighteye… she is safe and well. I haven't touched her ever since and will not anymore since you're so eager to put me behind bars."

"Oh believe me sir… I do."

The tension in the air was palpable. Both sides did not back down, but seeing that he was the best scientist for this role, he needed assurance that his loyalty was trusted.

"Listen… while I do still plan to get the girl off your custody. I need your assistance on something because I know you're the best person to know what exactly I'm dealing with." He said with admittance.

This confused the doctor.

"You want my help?"

"Yes… as stupid as that sounds. But you're the only one I know that can do it discreetly"

"Discreetly? Why so?"

He took out the vial and let the doctor see it.

"Is that… blood?"

"A colleague of mine gave this to me earlier. He said it was important to an overall plot they discovered somewhere in a compound they raided. This is top secret and doesn't exist publicly."

The doctor's eyes widened.

"You trust me? In handling that?"

"I do… but first, I need you to agree with the terms I'm willing to give you."

The doctor smiled.

"I thought you were a hero Sir Nighteye. Why make shady deals to people you deem as criminals?" he taunted. Mirai smiled at him as he put the vial on the desk.

"Are you a criminal for that matter Kiragami? I thought the judge voted you guilty three times?"

"So what?"

Mirai pressed on.

"I never liked compromises to my ideals. But even with the amount of evidence and witnesses I put in to your case. It never seems to work on my favor. I want to make deal with you because I want that girl to be free… and by doing so it relieves you of your current predicament which is the standoff between you and the law. If you agree to my terms, I'll get off your case… permanently. But this also means you give me what I want and exactly how I want it."

The doctor suddenly looks on in worry and indecision.

"What are you going to do with my daughter?"

"I want you to release custody of her and give her to the nearest family member of her maternal side. She will be safe with her mother's family; I can guarantee that."

"And in exchange… you'll leave me alone?"

"That is correct."

It took him a full minute to thin through Nighteye's terms. He looked at the vial and with permission from Nighteye, he took it gingerly and examined it.

"Why are you so hell-bent in putting me through this?" he asked Mirai.

"Because whichever way I see it Dr. Kiragami, I win on both sides. I can finally get the girl off your hands along with cooperation from yours truly to know what's in this vial, because I know you're the best qualified to see what this piece of the puzzle is."

"I see… you want the girl, and whatever's in here? Correct?"

"Yes."

"And you'll leave me alone after?"

"That is also a promise I can give you. I don't know about you but promises I give out don't break easily. Unlike you I think."

The doctor scoffed at his words.

"Fine… I can do with your terms. But I'm not necessarily sure my daughter will like my wife's family. She's far too cooped up to be social to anyone."

"It's not my problem. You made that problem for yourself, but at the very least she's far from your grasp."

He looked at him with uncertainty, but gave up in trying to reason with Nighteye.

"I assume you want to know about this vial as quick as possible?"

"Yes, at least in the period of twenty-four hours. You can work that fast."

"Nobody else needs to know too?"

"It is top secret. You break secrecy between us, I'll make sure you get a nice spot in Tartarus." Mirai said with a confident smile on his account. The doctor had no choice, should he disagree he knew that it would only take a few more trials before his secret was out.

He was put into a corner by this Pro Hero with these choices.

"Alright. I'll take your offer Sir Nighteye. As for my daughter I don't know how long it'll take to give custody to my dead wife's family. But as for this vial, I can make sure I give back your requested information either tomorrow or tonight."

Mirai smiled. He finally won on his part.

"Make it this week Doctor. I'm sure your wife's family will be relieved to see their granddaughter back. God rest your wife's soul, but at the very least I can assure she's safe." He said to him.

He frowned on that last bit but nodded as he took the vial. Nighteye made one last handshake with him as the doctor dejectedly sighed.

"Remember our deal."

"I won't forget." He said in annoyance as he left the office. Leaving Nighteye to his own musings. The last thing to do today…

Was to call All Might.

He dialed his phone and waited for his response. As triumphant as the deal went, he couldn't shake the feeling still of the mystery regarding the vial's contents. As well as this Midoriya girl's place in that mystery.

He hoped that they could solve in time…

And that his premonitions on All Might wouldn't come true.

The phone call was finally answered, just in time for Izumi Midoriya to come home and discover dead bodies in her apartment.

TO BE CONTINUED ON CHAPTER 12…

* * *

**AN: Finished another one! I always enjoyed Nighteye in canon, the only problem was he died too soon... for this storyline, I'm going to push him to be important earlier before the events of the Overhaul arc start. He won't have large appearances but he will definitely learn about Izumi's situation soon...**

**As for Chapter 12, I'm currently writing it while I finished these two sidestories. Effectively meshing the ideas here will sure make everything in Chapter 12 chaotic... a bit. Oh, and we're nearing the USJ incident too. I've got big things planned for the ending of Izumi's first Arc in school and I hope you all stay and enjoy it.**

**Like always, thanks for reading and leave a review or PM me if possible... :)**


	22. XII Small Complications

**I am so sorry this took longer to make. I had some things to do with real life and they slowed the process in writing this chapter. The other reason is, one scene in particular here (which will not be named) took at least 8 rewrites until I was satisfied with what I got. **

**Thankfully, here it is and ready for you guys... Thanks for those who remained patient.**

* * *

XII. Small Complications

The last few hours had been a cluster of various things to Izumi. Going home with a smile on her face after meeting new friends and triumphantly acing the first exercise Aizawa made was completely broken by the sudden realization and trauma of a dead body in her home. Luckily, someone in the apartment had already called the cops as quickly as they could along with her mother and aunt coming in an hour after that. All Might as Toshinori came along too after helping Izumi pack up some of her things, because it was deemed sleeping there could be dangerous for her and Inko according to Toshinori. Nemuri vowed to stay the night to 'hold the fort' and was able to convince Izumi by saying that she was far more capable than what she thought of her aunt. It was unilaterally agreed that staying in Toshinori's home was for the best. Izumi wondered why this whole 'robbery' incident had affected her mother and aunt so much. Like something was amiss that got them to quickly decide the next course of action within a limited window of time.

The authorities present ruled it as felony between a group of criminals orchestrating a simple heist. Neighbors next to the apartment had been similarly rooted out and taken some of their belongings but the dead bodies were peculiarly placed in their home for some reason. To the police involved it seemed like one member of the group bailed on all three members that died there, as evidence indicated that one person left the premises after ending their crime. They couldn't do much other than eyewitness reports since the main Security Footage had been destroyed discreetly, along with some of the guards in the apartment dead by neck snaps. The investigation continued even after Izumi and Inko left in Toshinori's car. Which by then was a very silent car ride even when they arrived half an hour later.

This made Inko concerned since Izumi used to dream seeing where All Might had lived, yet she remained expressionless and silent for the entirety of their arrival. Toshinori managed to ease them in with dinner that Kaguya had left before her trip that day to her family. They ate in relative silence even after Toshinori and Inko tried to comfort her. She tried lying back by saying she was alright but to the two adults, they knew what was going on. She was dealing with something that related to shock and trauma. Admittedly, this was the first time Izumi had seen a dead body, let alone one that was killed in such a bloody manner. This had turned the girl's beliefs somewhat upside down and she was forced to question what it meant to be a hero again.

Izumi had packed most of her belongings in two suitcases Inko and Nemuri prepared for her. One of them were her school supplies along with her hero journals that she uses to write almost every night. The other were her clothes and some belonging to her mother.

This night however wasn't usual for Izumi. She didn't seem to have any energy nor will to write on her journals. Let alone talk to Inko nor Toshinori. She didn't even bother to say anything about what happened on her day in school. In truth, Inko hadn't seen her like this ever since she came home from Italy, the night where she barely even acknowledged her existence.

Now, as Inko tucked Izumi to sleep after changing the girl into her nightwear, she stood by the door waiting to close it and turn off the lights when Izumi looked at her and asked a question.

"Mom?"

"Y-yes? What is it?" Inko said suddenly, hoping to get a conversation out of her.

"I-I did well in school today… my homeroom teacher Mr. Aizawa got surprised too. I-I was able to control my quirk enough to impress him." Izumi said with a faint smile.

Inko smiled back, recalling how it looked from far away. Seeing it made her proud.

"That's good Izumi. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks mom. I'm sorry I wasn't in the mood to talk. I think I just-"

Inko moved closer trying to stop her from blaming herself.

"Izumi… I need you to know something. Remember that time I told you about Heroes and Villains? Of how stupid that line of thought is?" Inko said with a hitch in her throat. It was a bad memory for both of them, but she was trying to prove a point.

Izumi nodded in response to her question.

"I still think it is unfortunately if you would ask me. But that's not the point I'm trying to make. The point is… to be a hero you need to sacrifice everything to save lives. I've seen how it is… how it all works and knowing Toshinori, he would agree to it."

Inko then held Izumi's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"But like everything in the world Izumi, it isn't what it all seems. The world isn't comics, nor heroes fighting villains in TV, nor is the reality of what the words heroism and villainy are. Things out there are different, brutal and will stop at nothing to snuff the other out. Even if it means killing." Inko said with a slow monotone, like she had already been through things like this.

Izumi's eyes widened but narrowed after thinking how much sense it made. She understood what her mother was telling her at that moment and thought about what was bugging her tonight. What questions about her mother's 'experience' for her to be able to tell such things with a true intent was overshadowed by the shock she felt today.

"I don't want to scare you… nor tell you to abandon ship on your dream. I'm just telling you this so you would be aware. Being the thing you want most in life is going to be hard and I know you're strong but eventually you are going to encounter things like this. Even your life has to be on the line to be a hero. Toshinori knows best about it too, and even with his colored background as the Symbol of Peace, he's seen things that not even the media could say through the camera lens."

Izumi nodded her head slowly. Inko continued to squeeze her hand. She smiled almost painfully at her, and while Izumi understood why, for some reason she had more at the back of her mind than the things she simply said to her. Izumi could notice it, with how the edge of her eyes crinkled in a smile full of pain and guilt.

"I'll keep that in mind mom… I'm sorry for making you scared too."

Inko sniffed as she regained her more than relieved smile.

"You don't know how scared I was hearing you panic through the phone. I-I'm just happy you're safe Izumi." She admitted as she squeezed her hand one last time before letting go.

"Thanks mom." Izumi said with genuine gratitude.

"Izumi… don't give up on your dream. I know it will be a hard road and for sure many similar horrible things will happen but for what it's worth, you would still do a great service to the people you save. You may not be the flashiest nor popular hero in time, but I could see the heroic spirit in you. Your smile will surely brighten those you keep safe and they will never need to see such horrors again. Be their shield Izumi… and it will take you further than even I could go."

Izumi smiled at her this time, a good smile that made Inko comfortable, even for a bit.

"Mom… are you possibly a hero I've never known officially? You sound so real with everything you say… like you've been there and experienced all of that." Izumi asked with a playful question of curiosity.

However, to Inko she merely bit her lip and fell into a soft silence for a small moment before considering what to say next.

"I don't know how to answer that question… b-but maybe in time I'll say it to you." Inko simply told her. Izumi was unsatisfied but decided to let it go, seeing as her mother began to dodge the question and truthfully speaking when she dodged questions she always firmly noted to either drop the question or tell her another time.

Izumi was about to apologize but Inko stopped her again just in time.

"Don't say sorry… you were only curious. I didn't need to act that way. But for what it's worth maybe… maybe you can say that I sort of am in some sense…" Inko said with another hitch on her voice. Luckily her smile seemed to ease Izumi, but deep down lying to her about this made her hurt burn in cinders. Yet it was a sacrifice she was willing to take on that moment, if it meant making Izumi comfortable.

"Thanks for the talk mom. I think I feel better now."

"G-Good… that's good to hear." Inko said, her voice faltering. Izumi noticed and wanted to know why but with the state of their conversation, it seemed better to let it go.

"Good Night…"

"Good Night Izumi." Inko said as she walked to the door of the room and turned off the light. Izumi then called out to her mom again with a whistle, Inko turned her head and found her smiling.

"Mom… we're in All Might's house." Izumi said with a large smile and some hint of excitement in her tone. Inko smiled back, a shade of Izumi's usual self, returned even for just a bit.

"Sleep well." Inko said in finality and closed the door behind her. She walked in slow strides as she thought about their conversation. The realization of how stupid she was to say some of the things she said in between them. Thankfully, even for a small bit something good came out of it and she reluctantly continued downstairs holding that knowledge in place.

Izumi on the other hand laid on the comfy pillows of the vacant room provided to her and her mother. She slept on the left side of the bed covered by the blankets as she stared upwards on the ceiling. Thinking of everything that transpired on that day.

From the happiness of meeting new friends.

From proving that she could control her quirk upon her homeroom teacher.

To the discovery of the dark deeds on the path she wanted to go for in life with those dead bodies. She already tried to ready herself in the past with this issue. The issue of life or death when it came to being a hero, but seeing it first hand was different and she was literally brought to an early realization of the reality this career would take her.

She obviously felt a sense of shock and awe at what happened.

Panic still remained in her chest.

But the one thing that was in Izumi's mind this whole time was the surreal realization that she didn't seem perturbed seeing those dead bodies. Even with how brutally they were killed in life, she didn't flinch nor feel afraid seeing them. She panicked of course, but the real source of fear within her…

Was that everything felt natural seeing those bodies. Like a sensation of gluttony was inside her that drew her close to those bodies. Something unnatural within her wanted to take something from them.

Whatever that something was disturbed Izumi, causing her shock and discomfort at herself. She knew deep inside that it was because of her quirk. But what did it mean? Why was she drawn to the evidences of violence? What was that sensation that drew her close to such things?

Why it did it seem like the tug of negative emotions braced her into something surreal within her mind. Why were her nightmares worsening? Why was she seeing things in broad daylight?

Why was this all happening at all to her? Izumi looked at the ceiling in fear as she put her hand and gently traced it on her headband. One other detail made the hairs of her skin stand up in fear, it was that her headband only glowed when her quirk was activated… right now, she was sure that it wasn't. Yet it continued to glow faintly in the midst of being unused.

It all started after her burst in the Practical Exam… and it had slowly gone worse after that.

She never told anyone yet because she thought it would simply vanish like the old days when she first wore the headband. But wearing it even now made her scared in taking it off. Like something bad was about to happen should she remove it.

Today was the worst… after she used her quirk even minimally in the exercises, she had strong headaches that lasted for about a minute before ceasing completely. Strange sensations within her started manifesting too… the worst of them happened at the sight of dead bodies in her home.

Now she was scared of herself.

Contemplating if she was able to control her quirk at all… and why exactly she was feeling this way. Maybe the supposed mastery she held over her quirk was a blind lie that was protecting her from the dark truth. Maybe removing this headband would worsen that feeling.

She put her hand up and tried to summon her black energy tendrils. They slowly appeared in small instances across her arm and wiggled out of existence as she put her arms down. She sighed.

For now… she decided to sleep while leaving it on. Closing her eyes with all of the heavy thoughts she wished to whisk away, she never predicted that tonight would be one of the worse nights in recent memory for her.

As the nightmares were at full swing…

Even with the headband on, as jolts of red energy fizzled above them.

* * *

Inko poured a drink of vodka into a large glass. She nearly emptied half of the bottle before Toshinori saw her and stopped her from pouring further. She whisked him away as she grabbed the bottle and glass and sat herself on the table. Relishing in her own shame. Toshinori felt the necessary judgement that whatever happened when she tucked Izumi in bed ended poorly on her end. He sat across from her as she stared at the glass filled with Vodka. She had poured so much, but it seemed like she was reluctant to take a sip.

Ever since Inko and Toshinori talked about Hisashi and letting her ease in with his presence during their nightly meetings, she had begun to take less and less alcohol. She seemed content and happy with what was happening in her life that drinking was not a thing she wanted to indulge into. Right now, she seemed to think twice of that again. She rounded her right thumb over the rim of the glass as she looked at it. Thinking if she should drink it.

"What happened?" Toshinori asked.

Inko didn't reply in an instant. She simply pursed her lips and put the glass back on the table as she crossed her arms and didn't attempt to look him straight in the eye.

"It's happening…" Inko said, almost a whisper with how low in volume her tone was.

"We're not even sure of that Inko…"

"She was right… this was going to happen." Inko said once again, ignoring what he said.

"Those people could have in fact been thieves… we can rule them out because they could have coincidentally appeared in your home right in time as we're being paranoid about this."

Inko looked at him after he said that. She didn't believe that statement at all.

"Who called you? I remember seeing you lose your composure. You were even shocked hearing that phone call in the middle of what happened in UA."

Toshinori froze. He tried to ascertain if it was best to tell her about it now. He knew what Inko's current mental state was. She looked vulnerable right now and was ready to burst in tears. Her eyes that were growing red were a good indication.

"Inko… I don't think it's a good time to-"

Glass shattered on the floor next to Inko, the bottle of vodka which was placed in the middle of the table next to the glass was thrown to the floor by an invisible force. Inko was holding her tears back as her hands which were grasping the glass was shaking wildly. Splashes of alcohol were beginning to wet her hands as the fluid ran down on the table. Toshinori stood up and took a towel to help her clean the mess. He was scared of how she would react of him wiping the mess she made with her hands, but thankfully as he reached to carefully wipe off traces of the fluid on her arms, she never resisted.

In fact, she dropped the glass on the table a bit gently as Toshinori wiped her fingers. He then gently took his hand into hers as she grabbed hold of them tightly. She was still holding back her tears as he gently caressed her with his other arm holding her close.

"J-Just tell me. I need to know." She said.

"Alright." After saying that he sat on the seat next to her. She still held on to his hands as tight as she could. He sighed as he tried to tell her what the phone call was.

"Nighteye called me. Do you remember him?"

Inko didn't respond but she got the point. She didn't even look at him.

"He told me that a colleague of his had orchestrated a raid in Shizuoka…"

"And?" Inko insisted. Her hands stopped shaking, but she remained troubled. Toshinori hesitated to say the next part, but she was waiting for his response. He couldn't deny her of it any longer.

"… They reported back with alarming findings. To cut it short, they raided a suspected drug factory only to find something else."

Inko now looked at him.

"What did they find?"

He bit his lip at how intense her gaze was.

"_What did they find?_" he sighed in defeat at her insistence.

"Experiments done on people of various quirks. Multiple bodies mutilated and tested on. Their bodies pumped by a red fluid that Nighteye thinks is a mutagen to enhance these people they're testing on. Based on the description of the place, they were still failing with their experiments. Nothing they tested the red fluid on seemed to have worked."

"Red fluid?"

"Nighteye has given a sample to some doctors to know what that fluid is… but unfortunately we can guess what's really in it."

Inko's eyes widened in realization.

"No… h-how?"

"There was a note placed next to a picture of me and young Izumi in that compound they raided. They seemed to want your daughter's DNA to finish something sinister there. As to where they got sources of her DNA, we don't really know."

Inko paled as she limped into his arms.

"It's happening." She said as a tear cascaded down her cheek.

"We don't know that yet." He firmly reiterated.

"Please stop saying that. It's too obvious at this point." She said as she squeezed tightly on Toshinori's hand. Like she can't fathom the pain she was experiencing tonight.

"I-I'm scared."

"Of what?" he asks.

"That I won't be there to protect her when the time comes. And I know that time is near."

"You don't need to be. Have you forgotten that I'm here? Have you forgotten that Nemuri, the UA staff, even Aizawa is there to protect her when that time come… you're not alone Inko and you never will be. Izumi will be safe, I promise you. Even if it ends my life… I'll make sure she's safe and in your arms."

Inko didn't react to that. She simply leaned backwards to him and rested herself in the comfort of his embrace. She continued to hold his hand tightly.

"I-I had to lie to her you know… tonight."

"What?"

"I-I told her the reality of being a hero in this business… I did it to comfort her so that she knows the dangers of this job."

Toshinori then gently used his free arm to stroke her hair. She never seemed to mind that.

"She took it well… b-but she asked me why I knew this stuff… Why I was so sure with what I was saying." She then smiled painfully thinking how excited Izumi looked at her when she asked if she was a hero. "It was stupid of me to say those things… i-if she knows what I truly am back then… I'm scared to lose her because of that… I don't want her to hate me anymore Toshinori… but I didn't know what to say to her so I lied." Her voice was shaking with every word she let out.

"I don't care about my past anymore… I've made those decisions myself. The only thing I care about right now is Izumi and I'm terrified of losing her because I didn't do enough to protect her. Both from anyone out there… and myself." She added as tears continued to flow from her eyes. She sniffed as she wiped her own tears. He simply stayed silent, letting her to let it all out.

She cried for a few more moments before finally calming herself down.

She then closed her eyes and rested on him.

"Everything will be alright Inko…" Toshinori said to her as tardiness took her. He then lifted her into his arms as he transformed into his powered form and walked her upstairs as she soundly slept. He passed by the room where Izumi was sleeping and decided to let the girl be to sleep soundly on her own. After hearing from Inko what transpired between the both of them, he thought that separating the two was a good option. He then gently continued to lift her as he entered his own room. He tucked Inko in his bed as he deflated on spot right next to her side and stroked his fingers on her cheek.

He left the room in a heavy sigh… As much as he wanted to join her, he knew that boundaries still existed between them and he respectfully left her there in the room to sleep downstairs at his couch. He locked the door behind him afterwards.

As he passed by Izumi's room, he opened it slightly and saw the redhead girl sound asleep. Thoughts of how heavy this situation became now that things were in motion enveloped his mind. He reeled those thoughts in as he closed the girl's door and walked downstairs. Still embroiled in deep thought.

_Everything will be alright… _he said to himself.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY…**

It was lunchbreak. Students of various quirks and sizes were filing up in the UA cafeteria. Busy as always during this time of the day, the head chef of the cafeteria Lunch Rush continued to supply each student the meal they ordered that was picked from the cafeteria's menu. Activity was present in every facet of the place as multiple students came and went from various parts of the school. Some of the faculty staff was present as well to get their meals. Groups of friends within classes were huddled up in tables as they continued to make conversations and discuss various things while eating. Class 1-A was part of that group as the social gathering of both boys and girls talking from separate but close tables were happening at that moment.

In the middle of it all, Izumi Midoriya was staring blankly at her food. She didn't buy anything from the cafeteria, only the bento made by her mother was the lunch she chose to eat today. Yet she had not found her appetite to compensate her hunger at that moment. She just continued to stare while moving her fork ever slightly at the side. Even though it was one of the more appealing meals she loved from her mother's cooking… she didn't seem fazed nor interested to eat at all.

Surrounding her was her newly acquainted friends from yesterday. By her right of course was Himiko who was having a light conversation with Toru Hagakure about the uses of their quirks. On her left was Uraraka and beside her was Tenya Iida who were exchanging small conversations with the others in the table but were mostly transfixed on their meal. Opposite to Izumi was Momo who was more than willing to communicate with the foreign transfer student in their class who sat next to Asui on the far left. Beside Momo was Kyouka whom was listening to music while eating. Oddly enough, Shoto who had minimal contact with Izumi yesterday was sitting in their table as well, along with Fumikage Tokoyami who was reading a book while Tenya kept asking him questions.

Normally like yesterday, even though Izumi was quite shy to initiate conversation; she was never one to shy away when talked to. Most of whom knew Izumi before classes started from the Practical Exam were well aware that if she liked the topic of the conversation (namely about heroes) she would go talking for literal minutes on end. Not today however… she barely even talked to anyone the moment she got into class. A few greetings here and there but she kept her mouth shut as she stared into literal nothing even now where Momo and Kyouka dragged her to the Cafeteria to eat with them.

No one had suspected yet of what was going on as Izumi sometimes responded with a smile. A forced smile on that matter that seemed to fool most of her new friends.

But Himiko while talking with Toru seemed to notice all too well, and she looked rather guilty herself as she looked at Izumi.

"Izumi? Is that you?" A voice suddenly came out as everyone looked to the side of the table and a familiar orange-haired girl looked at Izumi with a large smile.

Izumi was surprised herself to see her amidst her current disposition but the welcoming and friendly face of the girl she saved first in the exam was far too hard to ignore.

"Itsuka?"

"Wow it's been so long huh? How are you?" Kendou said as she went to Izumi while also saying hi to Kyouka, Uraraka, and Tenya who waved back. Kyouka even took off her earphones to gladly welcome her. Izumi on the other hand from a welcome smile turned into a blank stare.

"Uh Izumi? Hello? Earth to Izumi?" Kyouka said as she waved her hand in front of her. Izumi blinked her eyes and shook her head.

"Itsuka… right, It's so good to see you." Izumi said in a stammer as Kendou awkwardly smiled back. Kyouka and Himiko noticed this very quickly as Izumi seemed to lose focus every time her attention was diverted somewhere else.

"W-What class are you in?" Izumi asked.

"I got shipped to Class 1-B unfortunately… would have loved to be with you guys."

"Oh? Is your class harboring more idiots than ours?" Kyouka teased but not letting her eyes off of Izumi who zoned out again. Kendou laughed the accusation off as they continued.

"My classmates are fine… Managed to make friends with some of them pretty quick. They look up to me like a big sister of sorts… I don't know about that though." Kendou admitted.

"That sounds wonderful. We should eat together with you guys next time." Uraraka suggested.

"So you four met Izumi in the Entrance Exam?" Momo asked in between them as Sylvia and Asui looked at Kendou. Himiko and Toru did so as well, waiting to hear more tidbits about Izumi's stunt in the Practical.

"Well yeah… Izumi here saved my life from three pointers that were surrounding me. Got in a little hitch but she got me in time before the zero pointers got to me. Kinda owed her big there… isn't that right Izumi?"

"Y-Yeah..." Izumi said. Kyouka then made an annoyed sigh and looked at redhead girl with a bit of seriousness in her voice.

"Spill it."

"Spill what?" Izumi asked, as she was put on the seat by Kyouka. Momo and the others caught wind of it as well as the girl paled a bit at the sudden question.

"Something's bothering you. I can see it in your face."

"M-me?" Izumi asked as she pointed at herself. a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead.

"I'm afraid Kyouka's right Izumi… you've been very quiet ever since you got to school today." Momo said as she thought about it. Uraraka seemed to share the sentiment as well. Tenya who was drinking a soda listened in closely. Himiko on the other hand looked at Izumi with the same type of attention everyone was giving.

"Did I miss something important?" Kendou asked in between.

Izumi played with her fingers but sighed in defeat. She looked at Kyouka and the others and tried to explain what she was feeling right now.

"S-Sorry… I just have a lot in my head right now." Izumi admitted to them.

"Izu… did something wrong happen yesterday?" Himiko asked, a bit of concern and worry which was very apparent came to her voice as she looked at her. A bit of fear was also present but Izumi smiled at her to relieve her worries somewhat.

"No… nothing bad in particular." Izumi replied. On her part, it was a white lie. Telling them about the 'robbery' in her apartment was not going to help. It would only make them worry about her further and it also wasn't the thing that bothered her about last night. It was something else.

"I've just had trouble sleeping last night. Too many thoughts in my head along with a bunch of nightmares keeping me from sleeping. To be honest with you all my head's in a bit of a daze right now. Can't concentrate on anything that's why I've been quiet the entire day." Izumi explained.

"You've been having nightmares? Of what?" Uraraka asked.

Izumi looked at her and suddenly a flood of memories from last night resurfaced. The only thing she could hear was the sound of death, howls of innocent people begging for someone to save them, and the faces of people close to her. They were the ones suffering and worst of all, she recalls that it was her doing that caused all of that violence.

It was a dream… but it was far too vivid in detail for her to ignore like a simple passing thing.

It was already hard seeing her friends right now. Recalling their faces made her flinch.

"Just… some really scary things. You know…" Izumi said in a simple tense. Her words were barred from the complete truth, but it wasn't technically a lie either.

"We've all had terrible nightmares… but you can tell us about it you know. You don't need to hold it in. We are friends after all, even though we've only been acquainted yesterday, you're still my classmate and I'm sure everyone thinks the same way." Momo said with a reassuring smile. Izumi smiled back as she looked at Himiko who seemed to agree with her.

"Yeah… most of us do, even that asshole that Tenya keeps getting fights into." Kyouka teased.

"Hey! I do not pick fights with him. He's only been that because-" Tenya continued to rant as everyone laughed at his expense. Izumi then saw Katsuki who was grumbling to himself in the table, tolerating Kirishima, the hardening quirk classmate she had in the class. It made her feel a bit better seeing that at the very least he was social to some of them.

She then turned her eyes on Shoto, who seemed to acknowledge her gaze. He simply shrugged after she gave her an awkward grin but Izumi knew that he was always like that.

But it still bugged her seeing her classmates and friends being this happy as they surrounded her.

The dream may not have been true, but something inside her made her feel reclusive and fearful being in their presence. She was scared of something…

And that was something was herself.

"Izu… you can tell me what happened yesterday you know. You don't need to lie to me." Himiko said, a bit of fear in her voice, and what sounded like guilt came through. Like something was bugging her as well. Izumi placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a small grin.

"I'm fine… nothing you need to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

Izumi's eyes twitched. Her emotions suddenly took a turn for the worst as her vision mode momentarily activated and this time it was different. Like something was drawing her to stare at Himiko with such oddity.

"Izu?"

Luckily, she managed to turn it off and return her sanity somewhat. But deep down something as wrong and she sensed it well.

"Sorry… I spaced out there. Y-You don't need to worry about me. I'm just experiencing some of my quirks stupid drawbacks… that's all."

"S-Sure…" Himiko weakly said as she looked away. She was oddly guilty about something, Izumi noticed. She then turned to her other friends who were still talking about Tenya and Katsuki's vocal relationship. A set of laughs came as Kendou joined in, but in the end Izumi just couldn't take it.

They were all happy…

And a feeling inside her was tugging her senses in being drawn to her classmates.

She felt unease as her headband glowed faintly. She needed to be alone. She stood up from her seat and everyone looked at her. Thinking of what to say next, Izumi made a forced smile and excused herself to the restroom. Luckily no one seemed to mind that much as she left in a hurry. Himiko watched her leave alongside Shoto who was also mildly curious as to what was happening with her.

As soon as Izumi was out of view, Kyouka nudged the blonde girl to ask her a question.

"Hey… you and I both know something's wrong with her." she whispered, as the others were still embroiled in deep conversation. Himiko pursed her lips and shrugged.

"I really don't know Kyouka… but I'm worried about her."

"You and me both."

* * *

Katsuki was enjoying his meal when his classmates around him kept on talking about the girls. The class pervert as it seemed (that being Mineta) was trying to ask most of the guys in class of which girl in their roster was the one they liked most or had a crush on. The table was filled with laughs as they teased each other as time passed. To Katsuki however, he didn't get in on the conversation. He only minded himself as he ate his meal. His new 'friend' or companion to his right which was the red-haired Kirishima was talking with the others but at times he would ask Katsuki some questions to start a conversation. But with how vocal he was, it tended to last very short.

This time however, as he ate his meal he noticed that 'Deku' left the table next to them (where the others were) rather quickly. His eyes trailed her as she left the cafeteria in a rather quickened pace. He wasn't left unnoticed by Kirishima who was watching him closely.

"Hey dude… can I ask you about something?"

Katsuki blinked at his sudden question.

"Ask me about what spiky-hair?" his tonal reply was rather aggressive but Kirishima didn't seem to mind nor care about it. A thing that Katsuki respected in a sense.

"What's your relationship with Midoriya? You two keep arguing but I don't see both of you really hating each other that badly."

"WHAT? I do hate her you fucking idiot." Katsuki defensively said as his anger suddenly went up. Kirishima didn't back down however.

"Aw come on… it's merely competitiveness I see. Not that it matters but I just want to know what she is to you." Katsuki frowned as he thought about Izumi. A million different things came into his mind and while most of it was hate for the redhead girl, some of it was in a neutral sense.

"Yeah Bakugou… what's she to you?" Sero asked beside Kirishima. For a sudden moment the topic of the conversation suddenly shifted to him at that moment and Katsuki fumed in response as annoyance began to build up inside him. Annoyance and anger that is.

"I heard from the girls yesterday that you're her boyfriend? If so, you're lucky Midoriya's quite hot if we're going to be honest. A bit shy… but she's pretty and her bust size isn't something to laugh at as well." Mineta dreamily said, this earned a glare from Katsuki that caused him to deflate in his chair rather quickly.

The others were unperturbed as they continued asking questions.

One of them was Kaminari who was more or less largely intimidated yesterday by Izumi's display of power.

"Her quirk sure is weird… she's that strong but she doesn't look like it." Sato commented.

"Haven't you seen her in the gym Sato? When she did the grip test her arm was kinda jacked. She's packing some muscle underneath those clothes." Kaminari said.

"Really?" Kirishima said.

"Yeah… but what I'm really curious about is her quirk. What the hell is her quirk anyway?" Sero asked. As everyone discussed Izumi's quirk between them, Kirishima went deep in thought about the topic as well. He thought about the energy tendrils she lashed out from her arm as well as the electrical field she generated. He then thought about the news report where a girl saved a boy from a Slime Villain. Suddenly, he went wide-eyed as he looked at Katsuki.

"Dude… is Midoriya the girl who was in the news with All Might? Who fought that Slime Villain?"

Katsuki paled for a second as he dropped his spoon.

"Wait… was it her?" Mineta asked.

"You can't be serious… that would make Midoriya overpowered. Do you remember what that girl did as said in the news? She canceled that Slime dude's quirk using her electric fiel- Oh shit." Kaminari said.

"Well if she is… Midoriya's already overpowered as is with her quirk." Sero noted, as he knew that the girl's tendrils functioned like his in a way but add to that the super strength, speed, and energy output, they all knew that in some sense she was far in leagues to all of them present in the table.

Except for two individuals that is (two of which they don't know about… yet).

One of them being Katsuki who was now ready to burst in anger as Izumi was the one getting attention again. Much like in Junior High. He balled his fists as he was ready to lash out, now more than ever when they were trying to discern who the boy Izumi saved from the Slime Villain incident.

A memory he would surely like to forget.

He slammed his fist on the table in annoyance but was still drown out by the amount of conversation taking place. He was about to say something again to shut them all up when Kirishima suddenly asked him another question.

"Dude… are you and Midoriya friends? I heard from her best friend that the three of you went to school together in junior high."

"What does that mean to you spiky-hair?" Katsuki spat out.

"Well… she said you and her have a 'special relationship', according to Ashido Izumi even said you were her 'friend' in some sense."

Katsuki had an incredulous look on his face.

"SHE SAID THAT? WHAT?" he grabbed Kirishima's shoulders and leaned in with an intense gaze.

"Hey man, I only said what I heard. Doesn't mean I believe them." Kirishima said to his defense.

He let go of him instantly but his expression remained unchanged. He then looked at his classmates as all eyes were on him.

"Listen to me idiots! I don't care what you think of Deku… just know that in my book she's weaker than me and it won't change a damn thing whether she's got all that flashy shit she craps out of herself. I'm gonna be number one and she's going to ride on my coattails. Understand?"

Kirishima smiled as the others shrugged. Some even laughed to themselves. Katsuki on the other hand thought that the message went through until the next table's Tenya stood up and apprehended him verbally for his disorderly conduct. Making yet another argument between them.

The argument didn't last though, as Katsuki excused himself to the boy's restroom as he stomped away. Shoto was watching him carefully, thinking that it was odd the both Izumi and Katsuki made the same excuse to leave their respective tables. He shrugged to that thought as both tables of Class 1-A entered another conversation, one regarding the subject All Might was going to teach later that day.

On Katsuki's side however, he angrily slammed the door open and washed his hands as he continued to mope about the fact that Izumi was getting too much attention. He was once again hidden under her shadow. He angrily stomped his hand on the sink as the water continued to flow.

Cursing as he continued.

"Damn fucking Deku…" he said underneath his breath.

He didn't know exactly why the girl overshadowed her in so many areas. Although he could see clearly that the girl wasn't doing it on purpose, it still pissed him off to such a degree that he hated her for it. He resented being under Izumi's shadow, even though she never truly hated him nor resented his presence, he was just…

Why was he feeling this way?

Was his pride damaged because of the Slime Villain incident?

What exactly did he feel towards Izumi? Was it hate?

Or…

"I'm not jealous." He whispered to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the restroom opened, and out of it came a few other students. One of them was Shoto who was looking at Kastuki but looked away as soon as he finished washing his hands. He put a little force as he shoved the door open and walked outside. He shook his head, making sure that his thoughts wouldn't think that way.

He also decided to ditch everyone in the cafeteria, the first reason was to get away from his noisy ass classmates, and the other reason was because he needed time alone. That and because it was almost time to return to class.

Deciding to get some fresh air out in the school gardens for a bit, he walked a distance not too far from their classroom and reached the gardens in time. He took a deep breath as he gazed across the greenery and buildings surrounding this campus. Sighing to himself in annoyance, he decided to lean himself against a tree.

He rested his back on the nearest one and let silence take him.

He was going to think about something else until a faint voice of someone… crying came into his senses. He leaned his head right and saw that the nearest tree not far from his own…

Was Deku... and she was sobbing into her arms.

With eyes widening in surprise, he decided to maybe walk to her position. Yet his legs froze and his body automatically decided on its own to let her be. He wondered what kind of dumb reason she was crying here. It wasn't just a hint of sadness that he felt from her presence too, it felt like actual sorrow. Like something hard had hit her badly.

He felt pity for her as well as anger. This was the girl that challenged him on being the number one hero, yet here she was… crying softly like a stupid weakling. He wanted to laugh at her state. Maybe showing himself would do wonders to her already broken ego. Making sure she stays down would also be a good plan to go with. Breaking her spirit so that she wouldn't-

"Stop… Please stop…" he heard her say.

He thought it was him that she was talking to, but he found her sobbing still, holding her head for dear life. Her headband glowing faintly in the process.

For some reason he wanted to show himself and kick her on spot. Forcing her to stop crying…

But seeing her now made her wonder what she was going through.

"_No matter what happens between us in the future when we achieve our dreams, I'll still be here to support you on. Just promise me that you'll respect me too in exchange." _A shadow of the smile she gave to him in that memory remained in him and right now he was confused on what to do with her next.

He could only watch as she quietly sobbed.

Then the school bell rang. Meaning lunch time was over and they were needed back to their classrooms. Katsuki then leaned back to see where she was and saw that she stood up. She began wiping her tears as best she could to appear as if nothing happened. She then walked away slower than usual with a certain feeling of sadness still looming inside her.

Katsuki who remained had so many thoughts going inside his head. He angrily frowned at himself for some reason as he walked back inside the school.

With the haunting memory of Izumi crying inside his head.

* * *

13:15 Hours, UA Faculty Meeting Room…

Inko was sitting at the corner of the room hearing the UA faculty deliberate about the new findings they discovered from Izumi. Mostly the case was opened up by Aizawa who explained what happened yesterday at the field when he tried to turn off Izumi's quirk. Alongside this was discussion in regards to the concerns Nemuri, Inko, and Toshinori had about yesterday's thievery incident at the girl's home. As well as the new report given to Toshinori that was supplied by Nighteye.

It had been a heated discussion from the forefront as things became more complicated than ever at the turn of these events. She sat mostly in silence as she thought about the file Juno showed her and the current event leading up to now. She was also quite concerned yesterday about Izumi, something was off with her even when she went to school today. Her thoughts then drifted to a certain warning Juno gave her before they parted ways.

A warning that was etched on the back of her head recently.

"_The primary sign you need to look out for is when she starts having __**hallucinations**__. Keep that in mind so you won't panic when the time comes." _

"Ms. Inko? I've brought your coffee just as you prefer it." a voice said that interrupted her from her current line of thought. It was Kaguya, who just arrived early today after her small familial 'trip'. The woman was wearing a dark blue suit this time, complete with a signature white bow on her neckline. Her bunny ears were drooping slightly, indicating that she was a bit comfortable at that moment.

Inko smiled as she took the beverage and thanked her for it.

She then proceeded to hear Aizawa and the others deliberate about this 'alarming' indication that Izumi's quirk could not be erased nor suppressed. She already knew in a smart guess that Izumi's quirk could not be contained by conventional means. Even All Might's quirk was barely able to stand its ground when Izumi consumed it. She sipped her coffee as she continued to hear their rather vocal discussion.

Kaguya however caught wind of her deep thoughts.

"Something the matter Madame Midoriya?"

"Oh please, you know that I hate being called like that." Inko said with a small giggle. Kaguya smiled but continued the conversation.

"Well if you two are staying at Mr. Yagi's home for the time being, that also includes my services. Which means you're technically my boss too and little Midoriya's as well."

"Don't let that get into Izumi's head. You might regret doing so."

"I know… but still, I am a bit concerned at what these new developments mean for her." Kaguya surmised. Inko nodded in reply to that.

"Are we really sure to assume the worst with what's happening recently?" Kaguya asked.

"We should… otherwise I don't know how much damage this'll do to everyone, even including Izumi's own safety I'm not sure how we'll fare well if we don't become vigilant."

"I understand. However, what seems to be troubling you?"

"Everything… but mostly something else."

"What of it?"

Inko placed her beverage back to the small saucer Kaguya provided her. She put a hand on her chin as she thought about her current predicament.

"Izumi's been acting different earlier today. I can't place what is it exactly that gets me concerned but I'm just worried something will happen."

"Have yesterday's events possibly scarred her emotionally?" Kaguya asked.

"No… I don't think so. I know how Izumi acts when she's really sad or bothered about something. I'm afraid this isn't about what happened yesterday. It's about something else entirely."

Inko frowned as she knew deep down that something was wrong. It wasn't of concern that needed action at the moment but maybe talking to her daughter later would help. As she and Kaguay continued to talk about this, there was now a heated conversation amongst the staff about the findings in the compound raid yesterday.

One of them being that Toshinori got confirmation about what was inside the red vial.

"Nighteye has confirmed our fears regarding the red vial found in the raid at Shizuoka. It's a cloned sample of Young Midoriya's DNA."

Murmurs started to grow amongst the staff, chief of them was Nemuri and Inko who paled a bit at the revelation. They already guessed it earlier but hearing it being confirmed still stung.

"As our contact stated from the raid which is still being rendered off the books by law enforcement, they were conducting a series of tests and experiments on volunteers or chosen individuals based on their quirks. These images taken from the aftermath of the raid which was provided by Nighteye to help solve this case was indicative at what they were trying to do there.

On the screen ahead of the meeting room was showing pictures of mutilated bodies, hooked corpses, tubes filled with failed experiments, along with various other monstrosities conjured inside the compound. Most of the teachers while already used to such things were still baffled at what exactly these people were doing inside that lab.

"As to where they got a sample of Young Midoriya's DNA is still a mystery yet to solve. I don't blatantly recall the girl randomly exhuming her bodily fluids everywhere as we do clean it up as fast we could but seeing that someone still got a sample of her DNA makes me concerned." Toshinori said.

"We've cleaned up the remains on her Entrance Exam incident as well. Even then, the DNA would be far too unusable because of its exposure to sunlight, trash, and other waste." Recovery Girl said.

"Where did they get a sample then?" Ectoplasm asked.

"The more apparent problem I think right now is not about her DNA, it's about what they were trying to do in that compound. Those experiments… what exactly were they trying to create?" Aizawa interjected.

"Nighteye and his contacts believe that with the current evidence we have, it seems that they were trying to…" Toshinori stopped, as he saw Inko looking at him. Her expression pale and afraid.

"Trying to what?" Snipe said.

"… they were trying to replicate the girl's quirk and use it on their subjects. Thankfully, it seems all of them have failed to do so. No subject within nor records stored in the compound indicate that they were successful."

The room went silent.

"They were trying to replicate the girl's quirk?" Space Thirteen said who was sitting alongside another female member of the staff who was just as alarmed as she was.

"That is correct. What makes this mystery all the more alarming is that yesterday there was a break in the girl's home. Three dead bodies traced back by police were found in Nemuri's apartment. There didn't seem to be any indication that they were trying to locate the girl for extraction since the whole floor in that part of the apartment building was ransacked. Yet, me alongside Nemuri and Inko believe that this was related to that. As a note found in the compound indicated that they needed a fresh sample."

"A note?" Nemuri suddenly said.

"Yes… posted next to a picture of me and the girl smiling to camera because of the Slime Villain incident last year." Toshinori revealed. Inko felt herself weaken at these revelations. More importantly, it seemed like the entire staff had shared her sentiment.

"What is our plan of action? If these confirm the liable possibility of villains working against her, then we need to double our efforts. Time will tell what will happen next." Aizawa commented.

Nezu who was listening in turned to Power Loader.

"Have the security systems double checked and tightened. Make sure our outer defenses are in good condition. Also, keep everything discreet, we don't want to cause panic to our students. Also, we need to be ready for any possibility as well. The girl's protection is our prime mandate now alongside the safety of our students." Nezu said.

He then turned to Inko and Kaguya who was in the room as well.

"May I also have the cooperation of both of you in this, it is imperative we keep close watch day by day once the girl leaves Mr. Yagi's home." Inko simply nodded along with Kaguya as Aizawa put his attention to them. Luckily personal matter needed to be put in the background with the current situation.

"At that, I think it's time we conclude our meeting for today. We reconvene again before today's classes end. As for now, we should return to our designated work areas. Especially you All Might, today is your first class to teach Class 1-A about Foundational Hero Studies correct?" Nezu asked him as he nodded in response, however he was a bit anxious as to how his teachings will turn out. The only good part about this was he was going to interact with the youngsters, the future heroes of tomorrow, and alongside them was Izumi.

The meeting ended after that as the teachers went back to their classes.

Nemuri bid Inko farewell as the room was slowly vacated. She stood up as well when Toshinori was discussing some last minute things with Nezu. It ended quickly and the only ones in the room was her, Kaguya, and him.

"Wish you luck I guess… and keep her safe." Inko said with a slight tone of comfort for him.

"Where will you be?" Toshinori said. Inko then shrugged and looked at Kaguya who was taking something out of a bag she placed inside the room.

"I don't know… reaping the benefits of having an assistant?" Inko said with a shrug as they exchanged laughs. Kaguya now arrived with suit bag in her hands, containing it was one of Toshinori's hero suits.

"I hope you enjoy her presence; she gets frisky at times." Toshinori said as Kaguya frowned and shoved the bag into his hands.

"Unlike you Mr. Yagi, Ms. Inko is much more considerate." Kaguya said as she narrowed her eyes at him. Inko giggled as the woman now dragged the skinny man to wear his suit, Toshinori barely got a wave at Inko as they left the room. Now that she was alone, she took her bag and hoped for the best.

The best for Izumi's situation that is.

* * *

**LATER THAT DAY…**

Her senses felt different. Like something was latched on her for dear life, begging to be released. Hungry for something that drew her to people around her. Her eyes glowing in malicious red. Her presence and aura was that of a wild animal. Existing only to sustain its own hunger, its own desire. Her mouth was salivating; her focus was vivid. Her senses alarming… and her drive was that to nourish itself.

A hunger that seemed to be endless.

Lusting any source of sustenance in its wake.

Her hands pooled in blood was shaking to its own guile. Her tendrils of blackened energy lashed out like tentacles sensing movement. They showed up on her entire body as horns of protruding length grew atop her forehead. She was hunched over and ready to kill.

To kill and consume anyone who dared to go near her.

Around her lay corpses. Twenty-five in total…

Varied quirks of various shapes and sizes were now hers.

_Zero Gravity…_

_ Acid…_

_ Creation…_

_ Dark Shadow…_

_ Explosion…_

_ Earphone-Ja-_

**"Young Midoriya?"**

Izumi's eyes returned to their usual color… she blinked as she saw that the classroom around her was empty and she was holding the suitcase that the support company made based on her hero suit configurations and concept. A flood of memories yet again before this occurrence took hold of her.

_All Might in his Silver Age Costume…_

_ Her classmates happy to see that he is teaching in UA. Herself included as she smiled at her mentor._

_ He then explained that he was teaching Foundational Hero Studies and was going to have a field exercise under his tutelage. He also revealed that their hero suits were ready and while pressing a button, released containers within the classroom that housed their suitcases. _

_ She was quite surprised at how fast they were able to conjure up the suits for her classmates and as she got hers into her arms, no words could express how she felt._

_ Until…_

_ Nothing. She blacked out the moment she stood there to retrieve her suitcase._

Seeing it now, it seemed like everyone already left the classroom to change. Leaving her alone with All Might who deflated once the coast was clear. He looked at her in question as the girl now pondered what to say.

"Young Midoriya? Is something wrong?"

"N-No…"

Toshinori smiled and walked to her position. He then placed his hand over her shoulder to comfort her. To him, the girl was simply nervous.

"You know back in my day I was a bit apprehensive with how my suit would look and how others would see it. I wasn't the best person to conjure up a design of sorts so what came out was pretty bland."

Izumi stared. Toshinori, who didn't notice continued to smile and comfort her.

"Just be yourself Young Midoriya. Because no matter how you look, it's the job that matters in the end. Also, I'm pretty sure your suit will be great. You're a better artist than me after all."

Izumi managed a ghost of a smile with a small nod. Toshinori then laughed a bit as he buffed himself back to his powered form. The smile on his face as big and wide was ever.

A contrast to her which was devoid of emotion. She wondered herself why she acted that way.

"Now then, you don't want to be late to your first lesson with me right? Your classmates already left so I think it's time you join them."

Izumi nodded yet again, her expression unchanged. She took her suitcase and quietly walked out of the classroom as her mentor's eyes remained on her. As she left his field of vision a weird feeling took over him.

_What the heck was that about?_

He decided to push those thoughts away while leaving the classroom. He would meet them at the field outside once they were ready.

…

_What's wrong with me? I should be happy at this moment… but why, why am I like this?_

It was quiet yet again inside the girl's changing room. Izumi was left alone after her friends finished putting their suits on. While Himiko and Kyouka offered to stay by her side, she told them that she needed time alone. They were reluctant at first but a reminder from Tenya who knocked at the door to their changing room silenced that notion. She then promised her friends to catch up…

Only that a whole minute went by…

And she was still staring at herself on the mirror while she was partially nude.

Her eyes darted on her suitcase. She opened it slowly as he horns glowed faintly again. Her mind foggy and unfocused. However, she was able to pull out her suit. Luckily, a warm feeling enveloped her the moment she saw her once drawn concept to life.

It was a rewarding experience making the suit with help from her aunt Nemuri.

It took them literal hours alongside hundreds of unused concepts to settle only one. She smiled when a memory made her recall her mother seeing what the end result was of their hard work. At the end of that day, they celebrated with a bit of ice cream to repay their effort.

Izumi touched the fabric of the suit she now had in her hands.

It felt surreal seeing it right now.

She then decided to wear it after being able to refocus her thoughts from the otherwise happy memory. A minute later, she was now clad with the suit. She looked at herself in the mirror again and placed a hand on her face and ghosted her fingers along the headband.

She clutched the small helmet-like attachment on her suit on her other hand as she gazed at herself. At the corner of her eye through the reflection, she saw a ghostly afterimage of someone with a white cape.

She turned her head and saw that no one was there…

And like every occurrence where she would see the apparition, a level of comfort and ease enveloped her. Allowing her to think clearly yet again.

She then left the room as she put on the last vestiges of her suit.

Re-assuring herself that it would be alright…

This was just her anxiety…

The after-effects of yesterday's shock…

It was just her being anxious…

Just anxiety…

Just… that. Right?

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 12**

**AN: Yeah, nothing much happens here... except for buildup. Ending it here felt appropriate and once the next chapter hits which is the Battle Trials, everything that happened here will funnel into something chaotic in the end. These small occurrences are in fact Izumi's quirk finally doing what it was intended to be at the start, which is to consume quirks in order to satisfy its own hunger.**

**How it all ends up along with the threat of villains in the corner next chapter is left in the air until I post it... **

**Oh and Thanks for the ongoing support too. 80+ Follows and 63 favorites leaves a smile on my face (not to mention the views haha). Thank you guys! Thanks for being there, and see you again in the next post!**

**NEXT CHAPTER - DUEL - Something terrible strikes the first lesson under All Might. An unexpected accident gets Izumi in trouble. As this happens, a wave of sinister things start to happen in the background as the redhead girl's situation worsens by the day. **

**Sidestory #10 coming soon...**


	23. SideStory 10: Echoes

SideStory #10

"Echoes"

Toshinori's home at the current moment was silent. A clear indication that everyone was asleep. Except for himself that remained active at this given hour of time. The spill along with the glass shards of the bottle Inko broke about an hour ago remained on the floor next to the table. Seeing that he had nothing else to do, along with the fact that Kaguya was not around, he decided to clean it up himself.

It wasn't a harrowing task to begin with anyway and hopefully it would clear his mind partially to the annals of his current predicament. Taking a used cloth to carefully sift out the shards along with a garbage bag to throw them in, he begun in a slower but orderly fashion. Much like how his master taught him about patience and the benefits of those who use it wisely. He smiled at that thought as he finally took the las of the shards and tying them inside the bag. Placing the gathered waste beside him, he used the cloth to slowly clean and wipe away the vodka Inko had spilled on the floor.

He wondered where she could have taken this bottle, as he never drinks alcohol anymore ever since the surgery years ago. But he did know that sometimes when he was invited to be a guest of honor in parties, political gatherings, official fan events, and so on…, they always left a souvenir or gift for him once it ended. He figured that maybe in some sense Kaguya had taken this bottle along on one of his more recent endeavors. Probably…

Not that it matters now anyway, as the bottle itself was lost and the only remnants that were left were on the glass Inko used that still remained on the table. After making sure that the tiled floor was clean, he gathered everything he used on the part of the kitchen where Kaguya collects their waste.

His eyes then drifted to the table where her drink lay.

Thinking of what to do with it.

If his master was here now, she may have in fact told him to relax himself for a little. Even with the stress that amounted the girl's current situation, he knew better to calm himself.

Be patient.

_"Rational thought is better than thoughts laced with emotions that could either tip the balance of usefulness and misuse." _His master would say. That was the main reason why Gran Torino was so angry at him after his master's death. Because the moment he knew what was happening to Nana Shimura, he rushed in and tried to save her. Screaming and tearing up in anguish. She had bid them both to leave so she could deal with him, to stop him with how much strength lay in her body. She even smiled one last time at him, reminding him that it was okay.

With a heavy heart, Toshinori bitterly sighed at that memory. Patience. That was the key thing that she taught her. Patience that he would groom to use once he held 'One for All' for himself. Patience that allowed him to be the hero he was now.

And it was also patience that he was trying to instill in Izumi Midoriya's mind.

He walked towards the table and sat on the chair Inko used earlier. She was asleep now upstairs… in his room. As much as he wanted to join her and hold her close, it was still a stupid though to entertain. Thoughts of which he still had a hard time understanding.

His eyes drifted on the glass before him.

Wondering what to do with it.

He was not eagerly allowed to drink alcohol as it would mess up his body's current state but with the way things are, he looked at the glass in anticipation. Wondering what would happen if he took a sip.

His fingers drummed on the table.

Eyes locked on its presence. Beads of sweat starting to form at the side of his head as his gaze on the glass never wavered. Perhaps… trying one sip wouldn't go bad right?

Nana Shimura his master was never a drinker herself, but when she had to… it was in the excess that she would enjoy herself. He even recalled Gran Torino and her having a drinking contest. With his age he could hardly recall who won since he himself was inebriated (with the shameful display of vomiting so much of his stomach's contents the next day), but he knew that Nana enjoyed the small things in life that made her smile.

Truthfully enough, she always told him about it day after day.

To never sacrifice his own happiness for hero work.

One of her biggest regrets too… after her son died. Having placed so much time on hero work, his master Nana Shimura barely had time for his family. But what did that mean to him?

What did he have in life that he considered special?

Being alone all this time was a necessity to him as well as an important detail he lived in. Being the top hero had grievances of course, that being that he had so many enemies. Having something special to him would be dangerous… and he knew the risks of it. Which is why he never tried nor done anything at that regard.

Ms. Kaguya was important to him. But she was hardly a thing to worry about.

Although maybe that notion of thought had changed.

Ever since young Midoriya barged into his life, he felt genuine happiness again. The likes he hadn't seen since Nana. Nana was like a mother he never had, and he took great pride and love for his beloved master. Izumi on the other hand, was now close to that. The girl was now everything to him. Her importance overshadowed his own right now… not just because she was now the holder of 'One for All' but also because he had a duty to protect the girl from the special situation she was in.

For some odd reason the attachment he felt for the girl transcended more than just master and apprentice at this point. He asked himself if this was what Nana felt about him.

He smiled at that thought…

Nana Shimura was rough at her training of him. In truth, if he had applied Izumi's training regimen close to what he gone through, the girl (while still likely to go about it) would pale more in comparison to the training he gave.

Izumi felt like family to him already… and much like Nana's failings, he promised upon her grave that he would never make the same mistake again.

He stared at the glass once more.

His hands taking hold of it as he moved it towards him closer.

His thoughts now drifted to Inko Midoriya and a question loomed over him.

_What was Inko to him?_

…

The gaze on the glas hardened. He always asked himself what the former villain of his meant to him. Back in the day he wanted nothing but to take her in and help her reform. The reason being was that he saw something in the woman…

A spark of someone lost in her own way.

Much like him after Nana's death. Although he managed to climb himself off that sadness and combat it with renewed purpose. Inko however, or Jade as she once was… did not. Her violent yet discreet ways were something that disturbed him the moment he first saw her…

But was it really the reason why he thought of her differently?

Was it?

He then managed to copy the instinctual gesture Inko did which was circling her thumb on the rim of the glass she used to drink with. He didn't know why but he did know that his thoughts upon the woman had changed drastically, drastically in how he saw her completely change after being absent from his presence for more than a decade.

The way she was now… which was a broken woman who tried to find new meaning in protecting her daughter spoke deeply to him.

Allowing him to help her with anything he had in hand.

However, was that the only reason entirely?

Did it stop there?

His emotions were different around her. The sense of something else filled him when she was there with her. Especially the time Inko and him nearly…

_Kissed._

He shook his head in stupidity… thinking of these childish thoughts. He was in the middle age of his years now… barely younger than anyone here. Yet having such turmoil made him feel embarrassed with himself. He sighed and finally took the plunge as he put the glass to his lips and drank a portion of the alcohol in the glass.

_Bitter… strong._

The aftertaste remained as he set the glass on the table again.

Wondering what he was doing as he put a hand and rested his face on it.

_**"Dramatic… too emotional still aren't you?"**_

An old familiar voice reverberated in his head. He opened his blurry eyes and saw that someone was at the chair opposite to him. A woman. Not just a woman…

But his master.

Nana Shimura.

_**"*Sighs… Toshinori, you're pretty much the same kid I met all those years ago convincing me to take you under my tutelage. That quirkless boy still remains in your features even with how far you've gone in life."**_

Nana was smiling at him. That smile. He then looked at his glass. It was simply surreal and unbelievable to see her… like this in front of him. A ghost of the woman he loved and took pride in was now talking to her. He asked himself if this was a trick of his mind, or the product of alcohol.

Still, seeing her made him tear up.

_**"Oh come now… would crying at me give you any benefit? I thought I taught you that-**_

"-Rational thought is better than thoughts laced with emotions that could either tip the balance of usefulness and misuse." He finished, he then smiled in happiness seeing her as this vision of Nana smiled back. "Is this real?" he asked.

_**"That's up to you…"**_

Nana placed her elbows on the table and rested her head on her palms. Her gaze directed at him specifically. Toshinori couldn't help but ask how lifelike she looked. Like she never died at all. He then felt the emotions of her death overriding him yet again, but Nana was quick to correct him.

_**"Never apologize nor feel sorry for the past boy. I did what needed to be done. I never regret the decision I made in making sure you lived… and thankfully with everything you accomplished now, I'm happy to say I abide with that decision wholeheartedly."**_

"Master… I'm sorry, but I'm just far too happy to see you. Even if this is… a dream of sorts."

Nana Shimura managed a ghost of a giggle.

_**"I'm happy as well Toshinori… I feel like a proud mother looking at you now and I never regret the decision of taking you in… no matter how weak and scrawny you were at first."**_

Toshinori laughed as the ghostly apparition seemed to shimmer as his eyes continued to blink.

_**"But I'm not here to say hi to you… I'm here to give you advice."**_

He perked up as soon as he heard that.

_**"As I have done to you my dear boy, I wish you do the same with the future of 'One for All'. With that said, follow where your heart lies and never hold back what is special to you… Never hold back the love and care you have for those you hold dear…"**_

Her form shimmered and Toshinori felt sadness as he wanted to continue seeing is master's smile.

But it was not to be.

He blinked his eyes yet again. He expected to see her…

But no one was there.

She was gone.

He looked at the glass and stood up while he held it. He then threw its contents on the sink and wondered what he saw. Wondered if it was real. He then placed the glass on the sink for Kaguya to wash tomorrow once she arrives and headed to the couch to sleep.

_"Damn Alcohol."_

* * *

**SOMEWHERE IN ALDERA…**

Himiko sat close to her bed. Holding a picture in her hand, she smiled to herself as she saw her sister. How happy they were in the picture together. The top half was torn in pieces, as the ghostly remains of the faces of their father and mother were removed entirely. Her sister's face was smiling like nothing bad had happened between them.

Like nothing bad at all had occurred in their lives until that point.

She smiled bitterly knowing that it didn't end well for both of them. Never ended at all in what direction it took nor what choice they made together.

The only reason she lived right now was to save her sister. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice that was needed. She would do it all to see that smile again. To be together with her as they escape everyone's grasp.

All her life was mucked in the color of RED.

The clear color that changed her mentally ever since everything changed.

She held that picture tightly in her hands as she frowned at what was to come next. She had choices of course… and decisions that could help her save her sister.

One of them was the plan she was orchestrating now.

A lesser of two evils…

The only thing her two clients had wanted was Izumi's DNA sample… and to claim that they needed information. A deal was struck between her and them in a simple phone call.

The plan was simple… she would tell them the ins and outs of the UA Campus School Grounds. Every bit of morsel detail she could accumulate to send to her clients. Hoping that whatever they planned would be discreet and wouldn't spell doom to both her sister's fate and…

Possibly Izumi's.

She didn't want her killed. In fact, she was scared with the show of force that his clients had threatened. They wanted her so bad but Himiko wanted assurance first of Izumi's safety against all of this. A deal was struck when the terms were met…

And right now, she was trying to procure every info she had about UA.

Along with the map to the school's interior.

She hoped that this was enough. Gambling for new allies to break her sister out wasn't easy…

But in time… she will free her and they will be together.

At that moment… should that happen, the color of RED would disappear from her mind entirely.

Or so she hoped…

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**We're nearing USJ holy shit... XD**

**Leave a review or PM if possible! See ya again in the next post :)**


	24. A Guide to Hibana's OCs

**A Guide to this story's OCs**

**Usagiyama**

**Hero Name: **Easter

**Quirk: **_Oryctolagus_

**Allows her to have the disproportionate strength of rabbit only at higher percentage.** **This also enables her to have the agility, speed, and momentum that the animal her quirk is based on has. This also includes enhanced senses of sight, smell, reaction time, and hearing. **

**Additional Notes: She is the sister to a well-known Rabbit Hero in the public's eyes.**

** Importance to the Story: Major Side-Character**

* * *

**2\. Juno**

**Real Name: **Unknown

**Quirk: **_Empowerment_

**Anything she touches gets empowered to a 200% efficiency. This includes quirks of people she touches. The effect wears off after an hour of contact from her but the deadly the quirk of the one she touches, the higher the danger level goes to the person she's empowered. She can raise this ability to a height of 450%, but this drains her completely, stopping her from using her quirk further inside 24 hours.**

**Additional Notes: A mysterious figure that holds and controls an underground group of individuals in Europe. With her high intellect and effectiveness at leading, she has never once been caught nor blamed for actions that result in criminal acts. **

**She also has the only file in existence that pertains detailed descriptions of Izumi Midoriya's quirk.**

** Importance to the Story: Recurring Villain**

* * *

**Nemain**

**Real Name: **Unknown

**Quirk: **_Sudden Impact_

**A brawler that can increase the momentum and force of any moving object to shattering degrees. This is further used when she does her own punches and kicks, while the applications to her quirk is vast, she mainly uses it to add extra pounds of force to hits she delivers. While not physically strong, the attack boosts her quirk gives out is more than a match to any strength-enhancement quirk. **

**Additional Notes: The Rio de Janeiro incident that is mentioned in the story (Chapter 10), is by her doing. Juno Empowers her quirk to such a degree that her punch manages to rupture the tectonic plate of South America temporarily. Casualties on that incident are high while also gravely wounding Nemain's ability to use her arms. This results of her using a specialized set of gloves that Juno made for her to use her arms in a near-normal way as they once was. **

** Importance to the Story: Recurring Side Character**

* * *

**Io**

**Real Name: **Unknown

**Quirk: **_Nano-Fibers_

**Her skin produces nanomachine-like material that allows her to build, construct, and make machine-based devices and constructs all around her body. To build such components, she needs to make certain understandings of the device or construct she intends to copy or build. Her nano-fibers are numerous in number but are limited in use. Especially when in combat, when she loses or breaks the constructs she makes, they fall off as her body tried to recover the lost material. The more damage is done to her, the weaker she gets in a prolonged engagement.**

**Additional Notes: She is mute caused by an accident that Juno made during the operation that allowed her full control over her quirk.**

** Importance to the Story: Side-Character**

* * *

**The Other Women under Juno's Leadership**

**-Sekhmet/ Quirk: **_Beastiary_

**Allows her to manifest the strengths, senses, and power utilized by any animal in Planet Earth. She used this to lead a revolution in Africa caused by a Civil War due to Territory Disputes. She is thrown into Juno's services when she is presumed dead by the UN.**

**-Zoraya/ Quirk: **_BrightBurn_

**Allows her to suck and use any source of light to let out a beam from her eyes that disintegrates on an atomic level with anything it touches. A ghost town in one of the former countries under the old USSR was her doing. She is found by Juno during a trip to Poland.**

**-Bilquis/ Quirk: **_Malleability_

**Allows her to contort, move, and articulate her body as if it were made wholly by flexible muscle tissue. With this, her skin functions as a digestive organ in conjunction to her body as digestive enzymes manifest on her skin when in contact to organic material. She was discovered near the outskirts of South Africa acting as a religious figure to some natives of which she uses a food source.**

**-Anansi/ Quirk: **_Entomology_

**She can produce insects of any kind from a special bodily fluid ejected from her mouth.** **The number varies to the amount of fluids she can muster at a given time. The lifeforms are not permanent however and they dissolve at a period of 2 hours after release. The insects she makes however are far stronger than the ones she uses to copy from. She was discovered in Thailand by the streets, with a trail of dead children surrounding her file.**

* * *

**TASK FORCE RONIN (SAT Team)**

**Akaname**

**Real Name:** Classified

**Quirk: **_Rapid Healing_

**Allows injuries severe or minor to be healed within seconds. Speed is dependent on how severe an injury is however.**

**Additional Notes: Leader of the SAT squad fallen under his command. A specialized CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit) Officer that has gone across many classified missions throughout the years, he is also one of Nighteye's contacts within the government given special permission to sanction assistance from public-based law enforcement and Hero agencies.**

** Importance to the Story: Likely to appear Once more or Not at all (as is the team he commands)**

* * *

**Oni**

**Real Name: **Classified

**Quirk: **_Drain_

**A radius of one meter around her allows her to drain the energy and lifeforce of all living organisms within it. That energy is then transferred to her in the form of a strength-enhancement, greatly increasing the amount of weight and power her body normally carries. This is boosted based on the number of people or living things within her area of effect**

**Additional Notes: Her quirk is life-threatening and dangerous to people around her with prolonged exposure. Her team is immune to her effects while they wear the specialized suits they use during operations.**

** Importance to the Story: Likely to appear Once more or Not at all)**

* * *

**Amaterasu**

**Real Name:** Classified

**Quirk: **_Heat Surge_

**She can control the amount of heat an object, person, or of any source with ease. She cannot use her quirk like normal pyromancy since she cannot conjure or make any source of heat on her own. Instead, she uses this in a far different way than most would suspect. The main use of it to her is to add more speed, power and force to the guns she uses no matter what kind, size, or length. This greatly affects the bullets she uses and amplifies the damage the gun she holds to greater effect.**

**Additional Notes: A renowned marksman that was drafted into service after recommendation from a few peers in her class. She and Akaname were childhood friends.**

** Importance to the Story: Likely to appear Once more or Not at all**

* * *

**Futakuchi-Onna**

**Real Name:** Classified

**Quirk: **_Medusa_

**The keratin strands of hair on her head can be manipulated, transformed, and strengthened to great lengths. Her hair's components itself are classified to how much power and change she can do while using it. Which is why most of the time her hair is concealed and hidden. The lengths to which her hair's a threat in regards to people around her is debatable, but in outwards caution, it can only be used when necessary on missions.**

**Additional Notes: A special officer drafted through unknown means. Not much is known about her even to her teammates and she talks rarely unless spoken to or asked. Given her track record, she is known to be a very efficient heavy duty explosives expert and is renowned for her bravery being the shield-bearer of the team.**

** Importance to the Story: Likely to appear Once more or Not at all**

* * *

**Jorugumo**

**Real Name:** Classified

**Quirk: **_Dusk_

**Within half a meter's range, he can apply a blind effect on all personnel within the zone around him. This blind effect is maintained until he himself turns it off. To those affected, they are subjected to total blindness, only seeing themselves under a blanket of pitch black under their wake. All senses are blurred to half efficiency as well, making it easier to sneak up to vulnerable targets affected within his radius.**

**Additional Notes: Known to be the member with the highest confirmed set of kills within his service and time in the team. While rambunctious and more or less a loose cannon, he follows orders when his team is in an operation. His team is unaffected by his quirk due to a specialized visor that they use when authorization is given to Jorugumo's quirk.**

** Importance to the Story: Likely to appear Once more or Not at all**

* * *

**AN: That's the only OCs of note as of right now… and while I am aware that making OCs in fanfiction is mixed in reception. I do think twice of making such instances as to what their importance is and the role they play in the story. I never make an OC unless they have a reason to exist and that if they fit the narrative on which the story is based on.**

**That's all for now… and I hope you guys drop a review or comment if you have questions or directly PM me in response. Oh, and thanks for the current milestones this fic is having. It means a lot guys. Stay safe and see you in the next post.**

**Oh… and more thing, Chapter 13 will be posted soon. :)**


	25. XIII Duel

XIII. Duel

There were but many things that this old man had wanted throughout his years of living. Power, money, leadership, a hand in society in general and a global view of conquest to set out his desires and ideals throughout the world. While his foresight was strong, knowledge tantamount, and his will ironclad; he still grasped failure at every spot. The numerous victories he had in the past was now overshadowed by a great many failures. Failures that have far outweighed over his emotions was not to his liking. However, failure was a catalyst for great change and it also taught so much lessons that victory from the onset of failure proved to be so much more. A victory that was well-earned.

At present, that victory had not manifest yet.

Nor was his failures rekindled by lessons he learned.

Patience was his ally now. Patience to wait for something greater. Something better. He also had to be honest with himself at that current moment. His body was weak. The powers he now held was a pale reflection of his prime. His face, a scar of the last battle that nearly took his life. The last confrontation nearly killed them both however, that being he and his rival. The rival that broke out of the ashes of his predecessor and after decades of failure from their part, this one man succeeded where others could not. He could say that he was impressed at some level, although that would mean he was happy with his current state which in truth was not.

But as days go by he wishes to once again face that man.

The man that broke him to what he is now, and the same man he yearns redemption against.

In reality that's what his emotions want him to do. Admitting deep inside himself that victory done by his own hand was a slim chance. Both on his rival and himself. That's why… he intended to win on a different magnitude. A far different task that would shake the foundations of hero society as a whole. He didn't want to win a fist battle anymore, nor surround himself with the glory of killing his enemies. He wanted something else.

A message.

A message that would take root into society and change everything. A message that would someday rip apart the symbol and ideal his rival had built upon himself on the world. He could lose the battle again for all he cared, but leaving a legacy that would destroy the views and ideals people had was a thing he now craved so dearly.

He smiled, probably the last vestige of expression that his tattered and worn face could produce. A smile of victory as his plans were already in motion. It was nearing now, that time of day where he could show himself. It wasn't tomorrow, certainly not today, nor was it next week. But soon.

Soon he could unleash it all.

And soon, everything that All Might built will be for naught, and the world around him will change under his guiding hand. A very pleasant dream. A dream he was sure to happen soon.

Thankfully, one more cog was thrown into the plan. To further boost the scheme of things to come. A piece in the chessboard that would ensure victory on all fronts.

That piece was the girl. The girl with the wondrous quirk.

A quirk he intends to use for himself.

"Is my apprentice ready to see me?" he said as he felt a presence manifest behind him. A pillar of dark smoke that enveloped the room like a gateway appeared. The eyes he felt on the back of his head was familiar to him, and of course it was one of his most trusted aides.

"Yes my lord. He is ready to see you."

"Bring him in then. I intend to have a long talk about his future. You may also watch my dear friend. You are part of what is to come after all."

The blackened mass before him nodded as inside it, a figure robed in black stepped through. He had gray hair, pale skin, and a pale hand that was attached to his face. He smiled on his seat as he turned around and met the figure face to face. Joining his arms in appeasement, the black mass behind them transformed into something humanoid. Something that wore a suit jacket when it deflated to something human. The blackened figure who was named Kurogiri, stood in place, putting his hands on his back as he watched wordlessly.

The other figure robed in black now revealed to be a boy, bowed in respect towards him. In good faith, he waved his hand to take the seat next to him. The pale boy did as he commanded and with careful examination, he was pleased to see the results of his long term investment taking fruit.

"How are you Tomura?"

The boy took off the pale hand that covered his face and placed it on his lap. Revealing eyes that sunk inwards and surrounding them was lines across his face that stretched around it. Akin to an old man with the number that was on his face. He looked tired and worn as his lips were cracked and his teeth somewhat misshapen. Yet he looked steadfast and ready to hear what was to be said about him and to the man who was looking at him now, he could only smile at his behest.

"I am fine master… a little bored but otherwise fine."

The boy then scratched his neck in reflex. He quickly took it off the moment his master flinched at his action.

"What is the cause of your boredom my dear Tomura?"

"There is no action to speak of master. We hide in the shadows still and the enemy walks by us, I am honest in saying that I wish to do something about it, but knowing you I think that whatever action I take would ruin your grand scheme. I do not wish to be a hurdle in your plan, which is why I stay at my place."

"You've grown to be a worthy and patient man Tomura… for that I commend you. Gone are the days where you suffer the thrill to do something you want, and now you have groomed yourself into a man that may soon take my place one day."

"Please do not say that master. I am trying my best to uphold your teachings but I wish to still remain by your side. I have much to learn if I am to be worthy to replace you."

The man made a small chuckle as he watched his apprentice.

"You are correct in saying that you have much to learn Tomura. I am glad that you acknowledge that, for a true master never lets his student go on without giving everything he learned in life and share it upon his disciple. This in turn, the disciple learns from the ways of his old master and seeks to better with the tools and knowledge that he now possesses. I wish to do the same upon you one day my dear boy… for I do admit that I have many mistakes in the past. Mistakes that put me where I am…" he then smiles at his apprentice once more. "But that is where you come in… you will finish what I started and in time you will take my place."

Tomura began to feel unease in his seat.

"Master… why must you say such things? Your victory is assured once we put it into motion and I know for sure that you will remain where you stand, stronger and powerful than ever."

The man chuckles.

"It is not up to me to decide what my fate is dear Tomura. But a weary mind such as mine that has seen it all in life knows that a perfect plan doesn't exist. However, a well-executed plan does, and that is the goal I am willing to abide, the goal I wish to accomplish."

"Hmm…" Tomura groaned, unease further growing inside his head.

"What troubles you?"

"Master you know me well; I do not become scared in the face of danger nor death but I am worried of you. I wish to crush each and every enemy that even comes close to your presence yet you say such words as if you are ready of your own demise."

"I am…"

Tomura narrows his eyes at him.

"I am Tomura. I am ready for my own death should that come. But I bid you not to worry about it. My days are numbered for a reason and that is why I found you where you were lost in life. You had no purpose to speak of, and no living soul ready to give the care and empathy I gave when I found you. I yearned to teach you of my ways because I know my time is limited in this world. So in that sense, the reason I groomed you to be as if you were my own is to finish what I started. To be the man that would regain my honor even in my absence. I gave you everything so that I can see my dreams bear fruit, with you in the center of it."

Tomura was speechless in awe yet deep inside while his master's words were inspirational and thoughtful towards him, he was still worried about him deeply. Concern towards the tone of his words and intent. Yet he could see the meaning behind it, and what he was trying to say to him.

"T-Thank you master… I don't know what to say."

"Care not for it, I am happy already of the result you became."

Tomura bowed again in his seat.

"However, there is another reason why I called you here."

"What would that be?" Tomura asked, his tone now excited as his master's tone seemed ready to give him another order to work with.

"Have you gathered enough volunteers?"

"Yes. We have gathered a prudent amount to speak of."

The man looked at Kurogiri.

"Can you confirm this?"

"Yes my lord. The boy and I have gathered enough pawns ready to take any request or order we give them."

The man then turned back to his machines and monitors. Pressing one of the screens before him and revealing one of the images that still made him salivate in excitement the moment he had heard the truth about it.

"The time is almost upon us Kurogiri. I assume our contact inside is gathering enough info for us to use?"

"Yes my lord. That's what the girl told me. It won't be long before she complies."

"Good… it would make our work easier. Or should I say, it would make yours and Tomura's job easier once you get inside."

Tomura then couldn't shake the feeling inside his head the moment he was told about this plan. He understood killing All Might was a secondary option, but the primary task? He could not understand it still. He then motioned to ask about it.

"Master… I have an inquiry to request. A question."

"What is it?" the man asked as he looked at the picture and schematics of a particular redhead girl's DNA sequence along with notes covering the multitude of abilities her quirk possesses.

"This girl… why her? Why do we need to take her?"

The man paused.

"I assume it is the correct time to tell you about this new person of interest we have… wouldn't you say Kurogiri?"

"I believe so my lord."

Tomura, who was still confused looked at the two adults near him.

"Tomura, can I ask you what is the purpose of the creation of Nomus?"

Tomura shifted in his seat.

"To use as better pawns under our grasp master. As well as making it easier to deal with the fools outside wearing colored costumes. All Might in the forefront is the prime reason."

"Then what do you suppose was the reason one of our Nomu labs was raided?"

Tomura put a hand on his neck and scratched in anxiousness.

"I-I can't say I know… I assume you have a deeper ulterior motive as to why that place was so special to you master. The only reason I could think of is because that's where you created _it_." Tomura said as he pointed towards another screen in the room, revealing an animalistic looking large muscular figure that had its brain exposed along with what looked like beak-protrusion taking place where its mouth should be.

"A fair conclusion but no… what was inside that compound was special. A way to further our plans to the next level."

"What do you mean master?"

"It is simple Tomura… you are worried of me because in time my days and hours in this world will indefinitely cease, but this girl... along with the many benefits she holds will ultimately pave the way to our assured victory."

Tomura looked at the picture of the redhead girl smiling next to All Might. He had caught wind of this news months ago and he was unimpressed as some pro heroes already had the ability to shut down quirks temporarily. To have his master say that she was that important and essential made him wonder what the reasons were.

"I was clueless myself when I first heard about it… but in time the more information I gathered, the more I understood that this girl was something I never even predicted would come to existence, least of all in my lifetime. But here she was, ripe for the taking and with the various things she could do… I believe she will be an important piece into the grand scheme of things we wish to uphold upon the world." His master said in excitement. To be honest, he had not witnessed his master this happy and excited about anything, so seeing it first time made him curious as well to the girl's importance.

"We can even groom her to our cause… in time that is."

"I see…"

"We must get to her first Tomura… I am not the only person who knows about her, and I am sure that others 'like us' are already putting in plans to get to her first."

Tomura smiled.

"Then she will be yours first master. I am sure of it."

The man smiled and nodded back. Tomura then stood up, ready to leave in preparation for this strike. As he put on the hand contraption back to his face, he looked at his master yet again, asking him for one more favor before leaving.

"Master… may I know of this girl further? If you allow me that is."

"Of course, whatever makes you learn more Tomura. I don't have everything but I do know one crucial thing about this girl."

"And that is?"

"Aldera." The man said with a bone-chilling grin. One that affected Tomura as well.

* * *

14:13 Hours, UA School Campus Grounds…

"Wow you look so cool Sylvia!" Mina Ashido said as she gawked over the mute foreign exchange girl. The girl happily smiled in gratitude as her blue suit did stand out a bit from the Class 1-A's roster. It wasn't too flashy per say, but the way how the partial black armor plates that surrounded her skin-tight blue bodysuit definitely made an impression on most of the girls, along with most of the boys (who in this case were quite surprised at how good she looked wearing it). Her frame was rather small compared to the other girls, but she made up with how she explained (albeit slowly) the way the suit functioned. The fabric was a special-synthesized material that allowed her quirk to appear in most parts of her body while not sacrificing herself in being near-nude. This fact made Momo Yaoyorozu a bit jealous and was clear to her that she could ask for the Support Companies to update her suit much like the blue-haired girl's. Hers was a tad bit more revealing than usual, it allowed her to have free reign in using her quirk to its full potential, but it also made it so that her body was exposed more than she cared to admit. The red and white colored configuration also did not help for a certain few boys in the class to feel a bit perverted than usual. Uraraka also felt eyes on her as her suit was so skin-tight for her liking and it showed most of her curves that she was uncomfortable of showing to others.

Thankfully, with the assistance of Mina and Kyouka alongside Asui, that issue was thrown out of the window with a little assistance from Tenya. The boys did not disappoint as well with their colorful costumes, Tenya stood out most of all with how heavily armored and flashy his suit looked. It also didn't help that his suit bore a close resemblance to that of a pro hero with a similar engine quirk. Katsuki's suit wasn't one to be left behind as well. The colors and design complimented his rather explosive personality and the grenade-like objects that he wore as gauntlets along his arms served a purpose that he was quite excited to show in the battle trials.

With all of that said however, some had simpler designs when it came to their hero suits. Kyouka had a rather punk-rock makeover complete with a functional set of speakers to amplify her own sound-based quirk. Kirishima while definitely stylistic only supported enough fabric to cover his skin as his quirk already provided as armor to his body. The likes of Mina's and Kaminari's were solely focused on styles they chose for their suits and while they did show some functional aspects based on their quirks, they came out rather simpler than intended. Sero's along with Tokoyami's were also simple in some aspect as they chose practicality first that would benefit their quirk rather than stylistic choices.

Seeing all of them now made All Might (who was wearing one of his iconic hero suits) cheerful knowing that these were the next generation of would-be heroes that would someday replace even the likes of him. He looked around seeing how happy everyone was seeing each other, and as he thought about the future, one thing did make him wonder…

"Himiko… have you seen Izumi anywhere?" Toru asked, her suit simply a set of gloves and shoes made it as if those parts of clothing were floating from the ground and used by a ghost.

"No… me and Kyouka wanted to stay by her side as she changed but… we haven't seen her since then." Himiko said, her suit too was rather simple in presentation as well. A full-gray bodysuit that had specialized fabric (akin to Midnight's) that allowed the porous material her skin produced to ooze out without the need to rip it open. She also had a specialized utility belt that contained some melee weapons for her to use, although All Might insisted that she wouldn't need them at this situation. Yet.

"I told you we should have waited for her…" Kyouka insisted.

"You mean to say that Izumi's still acting strange since lunchtime?" Momo said as she interjected into the conversation. It also drew the attention of Tenya along with Tokoyami who knew of Izumi's strange out-of-focus episodes in the table they shared at lunch.

"I can't say, she's been telling us that she wants some alone time and all of that…" Kyouka replied.

"What did she say her problem was?" Asui asked.

"If I recall correctly, Izumi said she was suffering nightmares? Was that the reason?" Toru suggested.

"I don't know about you guys but there's something definitely wrong about her. She never came back to us when she excused herself to take a leak!" Kyouka said.

"I'm worried for her. She seemed really troubled about something." Himiko said, guilt laced in the tone of her words. Momo felt the same thing seeing that Izumi did in fact act erratically in some instances today but she never noticed that it was that serious to think about until now.

"What should we do?" Tenya asked.

"Momo… I think we should say this to All Might. It's been more than a minute now and she hasn't arrived yet." Kyouka said as Momo nodded. They were about to give this matter to the number one hero until All Might himself called out the girl's name.

"Ah! Young Midoriya, you've finally joined us!"

All eyes moved to Izumi's position as the girl shyly walked towards the group. A blush forming under her features as she waved at her class.

"H-Hi guys! Sorry I was late." She then ran towards Himiko and Kyouka along with her other friends as quickly as she could. The moment she did however, it made everyone jealous at rather how well-designed her suit turned out.

It even made Katsuki to look at her direction. Shoto did so as well with widened eyes.

All of the attention however made Izumi feel a bit more awkward and shy seeing that all the attention was on her again. A thing she wasn't comfortable in the slightest.

To All Might however, he too was surprised. Inko and Nemuri already said that the suit was something they conjured with Izumi months ago but seeing it fully-fleshed out and worn upon Izumi's form was quite a different matter indeed.

Izumi's suit was simple in design, but the way it was presented was rather extravagant and eye-catching. In its entirety, it was a full red body suit with narrow white and dark green lines moving along the suit through her arms, legs, and torso. Her chest sported a partial armor plate that covered her for protection with a white symbol that was shaped into a flower placed on the center of it. A white band was placed next to her shoulders on both arms that were connected to the collapsible fabric running along her arms. This red-colored fabric stretched all the way to her fingers where it was colored white on the ends of it. This fabric was specialized to allow the energy tendrils to manifest through it when she conjures Black Whip. Along her neckline was a buckled narrow white cape that flowed behind her back which ended below her knee. Her hair was tied into a bun as she sported a partial-helmet in design similar to Uraraka's. A red visor which was layered over face along with a two short protrusions that connected to the headband she wore inside. The look was finished with Izumi's calm and loving smile that Toshinori grew to love. He would take a picture of it later and send it to her mother. Knowing her it would definitely make her proud.

He also observed that she took a lot of elements in inspiration from the people she admired. Her bodysuit reminded him to be close in the likes of Inko's former Jade persona. How it fit close to her style made him realize that Inko must have had some input. He also found it rather appealing to see that the helmet she wore along with the two protrusions were meant as a close but not too far reference of his own iconic hair that stuck up above his head. The white cape however, he didn't know where that came from but it looked so similar in design to her former master's cape. Nana Shimura's to be exact.

It made him smile for a bit knowing that.

"Wow… you look so cool." Uraraka said as she gaped her mouth open in awe.

"I told you she packed muscle underneath those clothes… but damn, I never expected it to look this great." Kaminari commented. Most of the boys shared the sentiment as well.

"Wow… I feel so underwhelmed with how I look all of the sudden." Kyouka said as Izumi scratched the back of her neck in shyness. She giggled as everyone looked at her. Putting more pressure as her heart beat faster.

"You've been keeping secrets from us!" Mina suddenly said with a pout.

"W-What?"

"Look how stacked you are!" Mina said as she grabbed the girl's arm and showed how tone and muscled it was. It wasn't too much, but she definitely sported quite an attractive figure.

"H-Hard work and dedication I guess…" Izumi replied as Asui and Mina continued to haggle her.

"Wow Izu… I know you said you took ten days to make the suit through concept art you make, but I have to say this came out better than I expected it to be." Himiko stated as she poked the chest piece that Izumi wore.

_Ten days? _Momo internally said in surprise. She only did this suit to her preferences along with how useful it would be for her quirk. She was now adamant to update this design for the support course to change in the future.

Conversations have returned to normal now as Izumi returned to class. The boys returned to what they were talking about earlier and the girls along with Izumi were talking with her normally like they were yesterday, as if nothing happened to the redhead earlier. All Might on the other hand was preparing his lesson so he let the class do as they please for a few minutes.

Izumi however, had something to say to her friends. She then instinctively played with her fingers (a trait she does when nervous) as she cleared her throat to make them hear her out.

She bowed apologetically towards them.

"I'm sorry I acted weird earlier! It wasn't my intention to worry you guys. I was just a bit a depressed with how much was going on inside my head that I neglected you guys… I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" Izumi pleaded.

Himiko then made a soft giggle which was followed by her other friends. Izumi blushed profusely in shame only to see that Kyouka put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey… we all get bad shit in our lives at times… but that doesn't mean that we hate you for it."

"Yeah Izu, we are here for you after all." Himiko added with a smile. Momo and the others did the same as well as Izumi meekly smiled back.

"Thank you… I don't know what to say, but I'm really grateful meeting you guys!"

A small laugh passed between them as Momo looked at Izumi.

"The next time you experience something like this again Izumi, don't be afraid to tell us. You don't need to bottle it all up when we're here." Momo said as the girl bowed in thanks yet again. In Momo's head, she was thankful that Izumi was back to normal like yesterday.

"I'll keep that in mind guys." Izumi said.

Himiko felt a sigh of relief seeing Izumi like this, she now figured that maybe nothing happened yesterday after all. Maybe they hadn't made a move yet.

The conversations between the class were finally halted though when All Might cleared his throat.

"Now that you're all ready, it's time for combat training!" he proclaimed as everyone stood in attention. Tenya on the other hand raised his hand to ask a question. Hearing his voice through that armor made Izumi rather surprised to see that it was Tenya inside that suit. Izumi who now noticed everyone's suits made the inner nerd inside her salivate in excitement.

"Sir, this is the fake city from our Entrance Exam. Does that mean we will be conducting urban battle simulations again?"

_Oh yeah… this was the place where I did some- Nevermind. _Izumi said internally.

"Not quite! I'm going to move you two steps ahead, you see most of the villain fights you see in the news take place outside. However, statistically speaking run ins with the dastardliest of evildoers take place indoors. Think about it, backroom deals, home invasions (Izumi flinches hearing that), secret underground lairs; truly intelligent villains stay hidden in the shadows. For this training exercise you will be split into teams of good guys and bad guys. Fighting two on two battles with each other."

"Isn't this a bit too advance?" Asui asked.

"To answer your question, the best training is the experience you get from the battlefield! But do remember, you're not just going to punch a robot this time, you will be dealing with actual people now!" All Might said out aloud only to be welcomed by a barrage of questions.

"Sir! Will you be the one deciding who wins the exercise?" Momo inquired.

"How much damage are we allowed to do towards the enemy team?" Katsuki said.

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like Mr. Aizawa says?" Uraraka asked.

"Will you be splitting us by chance or by relative skil?" Tenya again asked.

And it continued as All Might stood there rather overwhelmed by the questions asked on him. Izumi awkwardly grinned at his mentor as he froze on where he stood while still taking in the questions being thrown at him. Izumi knew that the man was new to this, but it was honestly funny seeing him act the way he is right at that moment.

To Toshinori he groaned mentally. _ I wasn't even finished talking!_

The man then suddenly took a piece of paper (written by Kaguya), and opened it to say what was written on it. It was made as a failsafe should things like this happen to him. Izumi shamefully put a hand on her face at how embarrassing this looked. She did hold back a laugh that was starting to build up in her however. To Himiko and Kyouka who were beside her, they shrugged in response as to what she was doing.

"Listen up! The situation is this: the villains have hidden a nuclear ordinance somewhere in their hideout and the heroes have to try and foil their plans. To do that, the good guys either have to catch the villains with a special capture tape I will provide or recover the weapon. Likewise, for the bad guys to succeed, they have to protect their payload or capture the heroes!" All Might said as he put the piece of paper back to his belt.

"This sounds like a classic action movie set up." Izumi commented.

"Time is limited and we will be choosing teams by drawing lots!" All Might said as he lifted a box filled with the individual names of the class inside.

"Isn't there a better way?" Tenya asked as well as others who were a lot more comfortable pairing up with people they know. Izumi however really liked the set of rules based on selecting teams.

"Think about it guys, Pro Heroes usually get to partner up with heroes from different agencies in the spot. So maybe that's the reason we're seeing it here."

"Yes, I see… life is a random series of events." Tenya replied and he then went to apologize in yet another dramatic manner like the usual with him. After his apology, All Might excitedly pumped his fist in the air, shouting out that it was time to draw.

The class was a bit nervous as everyone's name was called out one by one and followed by who they were partnering up with. Himiko wished that it was Izumi she would be paired with, while the redhead girl maintained a rather excited glow around her, wondering who her partner was.

As the draws ended…

Izumi was fine with who she was partnered with.

But knowing who the enemy team was that was drawn afterwards, she was sufficiently surprised to know who they were and it made the battle trials a lot more harder than she previously thought.

* * *

14:27 Hours, UA Campus Library…

"Is this what you normally read when you have free time for yourself?" Inko whispered towards Kaguya who was sitting next to her, reading books about home design and furniture fixtures. Inko decided to relax a bit with literature the school offered and since Kaguya was following her, she told the woman to read some books she fancied as well. They didn't need to do anything after all at that time, as waiting for Izumi's class to end is still a few hours away.

The reason being why she stayed at UA at all was voluntary protection for Izumi as well as the request the principal asked on her and Kaguya to remain inside the school for added security.

"Ms. Inko, you have no idea how many changes the house Mr. Yagi goes through in a year. He usually doesn't mind whatever the house looks, but to make sure his public image retains, I was tasked to be creative with how the outside world sees him. That includes his home first and foremost. You don't know how much people get 'special' access to his home for an interview. It also helps that the people who visit it get to make stories and rumors of how great the place is… so I take pride in that."

"Really now? How much changes does the house go through in a year?"

"The highest count I could think of was six. The lowest probably at three." Kaguya mentioned.

Inko widened her eyes in surprise after hearing that.

"In what number of change is the house sitting at right now?"

Kaguya took a moment before responding to that question.

"Probably the second this year I think."

"And he just lets you?"

"Yes… though I do find it as a workout of sorts… and with the money supplied by Mr. Yagi's agency, I am allowed to do as much change as I can."

Inko was visibly impressed by that. She then wondered what would that mean for her and Izumi.

"If you're asking what changes I will do now that you two live there… I guess minor changes for the girl's wellbeing is the tantamount priority moving forward." Kaguya continued, guessing exactly what Inko was thinking.

"I suppose changing our room to better suit Izumi and I makes sense." Inko said.

"Oh… the girl's room will fit right into how I foresee it. She will love it… I think. As for Mr. Yagi's room that you and him share I think putting more flair into-

"Wait… what did you say?' Inko interrupted.

"Mr. Yagi's room, you share it with him right? I saw you sleep on his bed the moment I arrived at his residence. He wasn't sleeping next to you but I assumed that-

"Stop… stop talking. Nothing happened okay. Nothing happened." Inko firmly stated as a blush formed around her face. One of the students next to them looked at her as her voice was getting high in tone. Kaguya however remained expressionless and confused to her words.

"Just because I slept in his room does not mean I sleep with him." Inko continued.

"Hmm… but I think the girl would prefer sleeping alone and aren't you and Mr. Yagi close already?" Kaguya asked. Inko stared at Kaguya who was fearless asking that question. Truth is, she wasn't sure herself. They were close, she would admit that truthfully, but as to how close? She wasn't entirely sure.

"Can we… change the subject? Please?" Inko asked.

"If you want to, then yes…"

"Good… let's forget we had that conversation." Inko said as the woman returned to her own musings, flipping the page of the book she was reading. Inko on the other hand felt her blush subside as she sighed in relief. She then opened the book she held on her hands, which was about Quirk use modern day laws and regulations. Hoping to get something of use for Izumi in the future.

Being an undercover 'legal counselor' back in the day helped a bit in her favor.

As she flipped through the pages, another set of voices who were whispering was heard inside the library, catching the attention of some students who tried to silence a duo of third years talking to themselves about which reference to use.

Inko looked at them and saw that it was a boy and a girl, older by a few years from Izumi's age and about her age before she disappeared from everything back in her old life. The girl had long sky-blue hair and the boy had blonde hair. The both of them somewhat deep in conversation as to what book they needed to use for a project proposal they needed to finish.

They continued even though they already left the book shelf they grabbed books from.

Inko could hear them talk still, which made people look at them for being noisy. It reminded her of herself back when she was their age. Libraries were one of the places she used to sleep back in the day when she wasn't studying.

"I know but Mr. Cementoss said that this book was better." The girl said.

"But this book is concise than the one recommended. I think this is useful." The boy said.

"But aren't we supposed to-

Inko couldn't handle it anymore, so she stood up and went to their position. Where the girl's eyes widened as her serious look changed to a more friendly one.

"I hate to be a bother kids but you're pretty much making a fuss here." Inko said.

"Oh… sorry about that ma'am. We were just discussing something about our hero studies" the girl said, the boy then nodded too in agreement.

"I see… but can you please lighten your tones down to a bare minimum? This is a library after all."

Both students apologized and as they were about to leave, Inko noticed the books they were holding. It was something about hero regulations as well, and it peaked her interest.

"May I see those books you're holding?" Inko asked.

"Oh, these are just for our joint research project ma'am."

"I see… can I see them?" Inko asked again as the girl shrugged and gave her book to Inko's hands. Inko looked at it with close inspection and noticed that she was familiar with the book.

"May I ask what you both intend to use as your project proposal?" Inko inquired in curiosity. The two then explained in short detail, what they intended to use and Inko thought about it for a second before deciding on something for the two's benefit.

"I may be able to help you both… do you two have time for a consultation?"

"Consultation… from you ma'am?" The girl asked.

"Sure… I've got some free time right now. It wouldn't hurt doing something useful and besides lumbering around reading things ultimately ends with me getting bored in the process. It would be nice having people to talk to."

Kaguya heard that as her bunny ears stood out. She felt a bit offended hearing those words from her. She then wondered if she was indeed boring to talk to as Inko suggested. Meanwhile, the two students agreed at Inko's offer and at their behest, they went into one of the private study rooms inside the library. With Kaguya's help, Inko managed to get as much resources from the books regarding Quirk Regulations from the library to use for the two's benefit.

Time went on for an hour as Inko gave suggestions and expert advice about the topic these two wanted to pursue. By the end of it they were rather impressed and thankful for the input she gave for their project. The girl definitely felt that Inko left an impression on her as they finished their session.

"May I ask a question Ms. Inko?" the girl said.

"What is it? Nejire… right?" the girl nodded as the blonde boy was finishing up packing their notes and the books she suggested that they use.

"Are you a new teacher? You're pretty good at this." Nejire stated.

"Me? Oh no… I'm just here to… uh…" Inko then needed to think of a proper excuse as to why she was there. She then found the easiest excuse she can think of.

"I'm just a legal consultant hired by one of the faculty's members." She simply said.

"Ohh… I wish you could have been a teacher of ours. That would have been awesome."

"I agree ma'am and thank you once again for helping us." The blonde boy of whom Inko knew as Mirio said. Inko smiled at them as Kaguya returned with a cup of coffee for both of them to drink.

"What was your whole name again Ms. Inko? It would be helpful that we credit you once the work is done." Nejire asked. Inko said her full name as Mirio wrote it down, only for the woman to see that the girl was deep in thought about her name.

"Midoriya. Huh, Midoriya? Wait a second, are you related to an Izumi Midoriya from the entrance exam?" Inko was surprised the girl knew about Izumi, Mirio then stopped writing to hear the confirmation from Inko if Nejire's guess was true.

"I am… I'm her mother."

"WOW! You should know that she was amazing in the exam-" the girl continued to spit out sentences of awe and gratitude about Izumi's performance while Mirio kept on apologizing for her tendencies. They continued to talk about Izumi until a certain Shota Aizawa entered the study room they were all in.

The two students greeted the teacher in respect while Inko nodded at him. He looked away from her and reminded the two that their classes would resume soon. With the final goodbyes from the students given out as they left, the room's tension rose once it was only Aizawa and Inko's presence that filled the room. Kaguya watched in silence as Inko looked at him.

"Aizawa… if you're going to say something about me, just say it." Inko said.

The man stared at her intensely, before sighing inaudibly and leaving the room abruptly afterwards. A chasm of mistrust still existed between them and it was something that Inko still felt guilty about. When the coast was clear, she sipped the remnants of her coffee and looked at Kaguya.

"What?"

"That went better than anticipated. Do you think having me by your side is still boring?" Kaguya asked as Inko smirked at her. Inwardly however, she hoped that Aizawa would forgive her in time.

"Kaguya… what time does Toshinori's class end?"

"About an hour starting now. Why?"

"What was the exercise he intended to do today? For Izumi's class that is."

"Battle Trials." Kaguya responded and Inko wished that the two were doing well on the onset of that exercise.

* * *

**AN HOUR BEFORE…**

Izumi felt herself ready while at the same time anxious for what was to come. When she heard who the enemy team was, she was pretty much excited at first to know who the pair was. Until she used her 'vision mode' and saw what Shoto's quirk really was. She had seen glimpses of it used in the last physical exercise yesterday under their homeroom teacher's guidance but getting more in-depth knowledge of how volatile his quirk was through what clues her vision mode gave, made her feel all the more intimidated by his presence than before.

She knew deep down that the guy had something special underneath that expressionless look of his, but knowing a semblance of what he could do made her shudder to how good her performance was going to be. His partner in this test was Kirishima and Izumi didn't mind him at first, a strong quirk by hers standards and definitely not someone she could shrug off. But the real problem lay on Shoto himself.

Izumi knew that he was intelligent. There was more to what the eye could see from the surface level of the silent 'half and half' boy. To what extent his experience, mastery, and skill towards his quirk lay, she was unsure. Which made it more than a problem than it initially was.

Add that with the 20 minute time limit along with only 5 minutes to prepare and discuss a plan, Izumi felt more pressure than before. _And I thought Mr. Aizawa's test was scary… _she mentally said.

Luckily to help her feel a bit positive on her side of things was that her partner was the colorful, energetic, and always friendly Mina Ashido.

"That's your plan?" the pink girl said.

"That's the best solution that I could think of, and based on what clues I've gathered about Shoto, this is not going to be easy in the slightest." Izumi reiterated as Mina thought about their plan.

"You're that sure of how difficult it will be for us?"

"No, not really. I can guess mostly of what their capabilities are but seeing the amount of evidence I have in hand, I don't see this as a walk in the park."

"I know Kirishima… a bit, we went to the same school but we weren't classmates. All I know about him is that his quirk makes him harden to increase his defense. But for the other guy… is he really that dangerous?"

Izumi thought about the conversation she and Shoto shared when they were alone inside the nurse's office. How he used her words about knowing how she felt made it seem her theory was correct.

"I believe so…" Izumi concluded.

Mina felt a bit of fear from Izumi's conclusion but her excitement over this test blew away all thoughts of backing out or negativity from her head.

"Wow Izumi! I knew you were smart but not this smart! And the plan you just made for us, I'm not really easy in understanding some aspects of it but I think its gonna work!" Mina excitedly said.

Izumi smiled at her as she thought about all the lessons Inko, Kaguya, and Gran Torino taught her.

The strategy was relatively simple for both of them, but pulling it off was going to be hard. Especially since they were the designated hero team and the pair working inside the building was the enemy defending their payload inside. Izumi's hunch of Shoto's defensive measures made it clear to her that they needed a focused 'scalpel'-like attack rather than a full-blunt force offensive.

She was still hashing out the details in her head while Mina watched her. Earlier, when it was revealed who the teams were, Momo along with Kyouka and Himiko told Mina to make sure Izumi was really alright and to talk to her so she feels better with whatever was happening to her that day.

A task that Mina happily obliged to do. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder with that bright smile of hers. Izumi instantly looked at her direction. Her positive aura was far too much to ignore.

"Hey Izumi, how do you feel right now?"

"I'm fine Mina, if what you're asking about what happened during lunchtime… well, I was kinda having a bad day." Izumi admitted.

"It's fine, we all have bad days! But what I'm asking is what are you feeling now? Do you feel better? Are you okay taking this test?"

Izumi was still split on that internally, but since her focus returned to almost full capacity, she felt that it was okay going through with this.

"Yeah, I feel better now. A bit stressed but otherwise fine. Thanks for asking." Izumi said with a feeling of gratitude returned to the pink girl.

"Aw come on, we can totally win this. You've been doing amazing things so far ever since I met you! I'm sure we'll win with this as well." Mina's enthusiasm really struck a chord to her, and while it reminded her of Himiko at times, their energy was different from each other.

Which also meant that she liked the girl as well.

"I-I don't know about that though, I'm not really that special to begin with… heh." Izumi giggled afterwards as Mina continued to give her so much compliments. Then she asked something out of the blue all of the sudden.

"Oh I didn't mean to ask but Momo told me this was because of you having nightmares?"

Izumi flinched as she looked at Mina. She nodded as the girl asked about what her dream was. However, seeing that the mood turned down a notch, Mina pulled the question back quickly to make her feel better. Izumi smiled at how much she cared but a thought inside her made it hard for her to admit what her nightmare was.

_Because it was about her killing all her friends._

"Izumi… it'll be fine. It was just a dream." Mina assured as she took her hand. Izumi nodded.

Then through the ear pieces provided to them, All Might finally announced that the 5 minute planning period for the commencement of the test ended and with a deep breath Izumi and Mina looked at each other with determined looks.

Their 20 minutes had just begun.

…

Meanwhile inside the building, Shoto and Kirishima already received the order that the test had started. They discussed a few things but the main front of their plan was that Kirishima was going to defend this room specifically where the ordinance they carried lay. They both agreed that he could handle anyone best at a close range and the room itself provided enough room to let him shine for that. For Shoto, the main thing he needed to do was to delay the advance of the attackers with as much prejudice and force he could give out. This came as no surprise since the girl on the enemy team was the main problem they needed to snuff out.

Ashido provided a threat level too, but she was far out of league of what they knew so far about Izumi Midoriya's capabilities. Luckily for Shoto, he had countermeasures in place of that.

"Can I count on you to make sure this place stays safe?" Shoto asked. The redhead boy smacked his hands together with a determined expression. His skin hardened enough to the point that cracks of stone-like material appeared all throughout.

"I can handle anyone at this small of a room Todoroki! You can count on me for that."

"Good… and I'll make sure our defenses are tight."

Kirishima's eyes widened.

"What are you going to do?"

"Watch…" Shoto said with seriousness as he walked to the halls outside the small room and pressed his hand upon the wall. Instantly in mere seconds, ice surrounded the entire hallway in a flash as the whole building froze with the touch of his hand. Boulders upon boulders of hardened ice blocked important passageways and entryways. The ice itself had spread into the entirety of the building that it was visible to the people outside who saw it unfold. Ice jutted out of the walls and windows along with chokepoints which can still be used inside. The permafrost completely made their defenses ironclad to any attacker willing to take the risk. While he did concur that Izumi had the capability to blow the ice away, this wasn't a problem since he had intentionally placed multiple hard obstacles on almost every passageway going to the room they needed to guard extensively.

The raw power Shoto displayed made their classmates gape their mouths in shock.

The temperature obviously dropped to such degrees that even Kirishima who was iced in by the blocks he placed on the entryways of the room, was shivering in his boots. His suit also never provided any insulation to speak of. But he luckily the test was only 20 minutes and he could survive enough for that long.

"A-A bit too much on there... Todoroki… D-Do you still hear me on your side?" Kirishima said as he used the earpiece provided. A signal went through, with Shoto acknowledging.

"Keep yourself tight there, I'm going to make sure they don't get to your location."

"A-All right… j-just keep y-yourself safe bro."

Shoto hummed in response as he traversed the halls that he used less of his quirk with. He then started to think what Izumi would do next.

…

"Holy shit… never thought that guy was that strong." Sero commented as he and the rest of his classmates along with All Might watched in the situation room, where they could view the test taking place. This was in fact the first match of the day and already the dials were turned to eleven when Izumi was placed against one of the strongest the class had to offer.

"That was smart of him to do that. While unorthodox for a villain to use such tactics, I suppose when it comes to defending and stalling for a good amount of time, this works perfectly into his hands." Momo commented.

"I'm sure Izu can pull it off!" Himiko cheered.

"Can they though? I'm a bit worried about them now. Todoroki barely showed any strain from using his quirk like that. Izumi on the other hand has severe backlash when she uses her quirk to large extents." Uraraka worriedly said.

Murmurs started to form until an unlikely voice came out.

"If there's one thing I know about Deku, she's stubborn enough not to give up even when there's the smallest chance of victory. She'll probably take it than walk away without proving anything meaningful on her end." Katsuki Bakugou said, a phrase that even All Might listened to.

"So you DO care about Izu!" Himiko teased.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT BLONDIE!"

"Speaking of Midoriya and Ashido… where the heck are they?" Kaminari pointed out as indeed the two girls were not in frame on the cameras installed inside the building. Only layers of permafrost across walls and tall boulders of ice were in frame.

Toshinori narrowed his eyes, because to him he knew that the girl had something under her sleeve. But of what magnitude was the thing he was deathly curious about, because the trackers in place attached to the two pairs of teams individually only registered Shoto's and Kirishima's. Mina's and Izumi's had the signals to their trackers lost within the building.

…

"H-have you seen them?" Kirishima said through the earpiece.

"No… I haven't yet. With only about eleven minutes remaining, I doubt they can do anything substantial to get to your end." Shoto replied.

"T-That s-sounds g-great."

"Just hang tight. This'll be over soon."

"S-Sure…"

"I'm going to go on one last rotation then I'll go back to your- Shoto suddenly stopped when he caught wind of smoke coming from the doorway towards hallway in front of him. He suddenly grew cautious on that new occurrence.

"Todoroki?" Kirishima asked through the earpiece.

"I think I've found them. Or at least one of them." Shoto said as he eased his steps to stealthily get himself to the doorway and true enough, Mina Ashido was there by the end of it, burning away the ice that was covering the staircase upwards to Kirishima's location. He wondered where Izumi was, but knowing that Ashido's quirk could melt through his constructs with a moderate pace, he had to take her out as fast as he could. He walked in the middle of the hallway about to place his hand on the wall next to him to produce ice strong enough to hold her in place.

He felt sorry for the girl when he was about to do this, until…

**THWAP! **

Black Tendrils of Energy binded his hand in mere seconds, and a shock of electricity temporarily made Shoto's hand partially numb. He looked up and saw perched above the ceiling was Izumi, held in place by Black Whip gripping itself tight along the walls.

"Hi." Izumi said.

Shoto frowned as he used his free hand to wave into the air towards her, sending a surge of ice on her direction. Izumi dodged by a millisecond as she leapt a spot next to him and wrapped Black Whip along his feet to drag him to the ground with one pull.

Izumi yanked it hard but luckily Shoto managed to stick his other foot on the ground with ice that latched on him he then aimed his free hand towards Mina's position, only to see that she vanished leaving behind melted ice from her wake.

He then turned his attention to Izumi, with forceful eyes he aimed at her direction.

Izumi released her hold on him as a torrent of ice blew towards her direction. With speed and reflexes energized by her quirk, she shot a line of Black Whip upwards and launched herself with enough momentum to break the ceiling upwards.

**CRASH!**

She landed directly on top and as she tried to catch a breath, a sudden pillar of ice struck out from the whole she came from. Suddenly another broke apart next to it, and another…

The pillars were heading to her direction.

Izumi was about to leap away from she perched herself when, the entire floor ruptured. Out of it came Shoto as he grabbed Izumi's leg in time before she could leap out of the way. He then threw her to the ground next to her.

The girl groaned as she hit the floor.

"That hurt." Izumi said as Shoto towered over her. He then leaned forward, making sure that she wouldn't move in place as he wanted her to surrender. Izumi on the other hand, smirked in response, in the heat of battle along with the tips Inko and Kaguya gave her, she knew what best to do at this situation.

She put her hands on Shoto's face in a sort of seduction tactic… making Shoto flustered and stunned for a second. The way how she moved her hands and how her face looked completely caught him off guard.

"What are you doing?" he asked in surprise as both of them blushed bright in red.

"I got you." Izumi said with a smirk as her hands tightened around his face and a shock of Izumi's electricity funneled into his head. He screamed in pain as the girl positioned her feet on his chest and kicked him off her by a good distance away from her.

The shock registered to Shoto's head stunned him as he tried to recover on the floor.

Suddenly something stirred inside him as painful memories of his father, his family, his drive, his pain, and worst of all what his mother did to him attacked him relentlessly in those short span of seconds. He opened his eyes as he tried to refocus on the battle, when Izumi ran at her with an arm ready to punch him. Shoto's eyes widened as he saw that the girl's helmet especially along the two protrusions on top of it was generating a moderate amount of red electricity she produced.

He aimed his hands at her to blow her away and incapacitate her.

Only to find out that for some reason, his quirk didn't work.

"TAKE THIS!" Izumi said as she thrust forward a blow. The speed was far too fast for him but he managed to dodge, only for Izumi to graze his cheek barely. A scratched had formed as minimal blood seeped through. He moved away, going into a defensive as Izumi kept on coming with a flurry of fast attacks. She was going to hit her again, only for Shoto grab her arm and try to redirect it away from him. Only this time, Izumi knew exactly that he would do that and in a fashion akin to Kaguya's moves, she used the grabbed arm to twist herself over him with a single leap while throwing him to the nearest wall with sufficient force.

"AGH!" Shoto said as he felt himself hit his back on the wall, nearly knocking out the wind out of him. Izumi didn't stop there though as she came at him again with a kick. The boy rolled away just in time as Izumi's kick was strong enough to dent the wall. While a groan came from her, it didn't seem to injure her at all.

She laid her eyes on Shoto and saw that he stood his ground, trying to make his quirk work to no avail. Izumi spotted a window of opportunity and was determined to seize it. She ran to Shoto as the duel between them continued. Blow for blow the eyes of which were watching them stood in awe…

…

"Look how fast she's going." Ojiro commented, being trained with hand to hand combat himself, he was very surprised and amazed that Izumi could pull off successful attacks while also countering attacks being thrown at her. The speed and strength that came with such blows was also a thing that made everyone in the room interested to watch second by second as minutes pass.

"Why is Todoroki not fighting back? He can easily freeze her right then and there!" Sero said.

"Don't you see what she's doing to him, the moment she put her hands on his face and electrocuted him, he wasn't able to use his quirk anymore." Shouji said in observation.

"Wait… so she was the girl in the news last year?" Mineta said in surprise.

"I thought Shoto had this fight the moment she engaged against him, but I'm starting to have doubts about it now." Kaminari exclaimed, and deep down he felt useless again seeing Izumi who had the better 'electric-based' quirk than him.

"This is so awesome… it's like watching Pros at play!" Toru cheerfully said.

"Appealing as it may be, I think Izumi is doing far too much combat for my liking." Momo expressed. Kyouka and Himiko turned to her for an explanation.

"Look at the timer. There's only less than five minutes left and Izumi hasn't subdued him yet nor has Mina gotten close to secure the bomb."

Uraraka gulped in fear, hoping that Izumi and Mina would still win…

"Why is she dragging this fight so long?" Toshinori whispered to himself as injuries on Shoto were starting to appear and Izumi didn't look like she was finished with her onslaught.

"Come on DEKU! Beat his sorry ass!" Katsuki screamed in frustration.

…

Shoto's suit was starting to have visible damage as parts of it were ripping up. Izumi didn't cease to attack him and while he intended to absorb each hit to delay her further in their advance, he knew that the more damage she dealt, the more likely she will be able to go through him. Along with the speed and strength advantage she held physically, he knew that she could easily take the bomb just by her own.

But since time was ticking, he need to disengage and make sure he wastes enough of her time.

Izumi lunged at him again with a combo of punches and kicks, but as they were about to hit him, he dodged right on time and high-tailed out of the room as he ran. Izumi in quick reflex, bound his arms with Black Whip and then for some reason crashed herself to break the wall in this room to enter the next. She then threw him inside the frost-laden spacious room that had multiple boulders of his ice covering the exits. He stood up slightly weaker than before as he looked at Izumi standing where she made a hole through the wall.

He looked at the timer and saw that 3 minutes were left, and she didn't move where she stood.

He needed to delay her further.

"I have to say, I didn't know you could cancel out quirks just like Mr. Aizawa."

"I can only dampen them… I don't erase a quirk fully unlike him." She replied as she started to walk towards him. Shoto finally standing up, held one his arms that were aching. Izumi had visible damage too from his earlier attacks, but he was the more battered one between them.

"Midoriya… what's your plan? I hate to say that you're wasting too much of your time."

Izumi stopped, suddenly the energy field she produced was shut off. Shoto finally felt the frost and flame of his quirk back at his fingertips.

"I'm not actually…"

"So you mean to say Ashido is still in the loop? You do know she isn't fast enough to get to the bomb, with Kirishima still guarding it, I doubt she can secure it in time. You don't even know where it is, and I'm willing to be she doesn't either."

"I actually know where Kirishima and the bomb is. The thing is, I whenever I see someone in my vision mode even for the first time, I get the sense of knowing where they exactly are in and it's even more effective when they're close by."

Shoto was shocked to hear that, but this little conversation gave way to his advantage. Before she could activate her quirk again, Shoto raised his hands as fast as he could and let loose the frozen tundra upon Izumi.

**BWWOOOOOSSSHHHHHHHH!**

…

Toshinori was floored the moment he heard about what Izumi had just said. As he recalled the last time the girl told her about the numerous innate abilities her vision mode possessed and one of them was to track anyone seen by herself while getting a sense of where they are no matter the distance.

He was impressed to know that detail firsthand before all hell broke loose.

The fight went on and the intensity was doubling up.

He started worry if he needed to intervene to stop both of them from getting each other hurt.

"Izumi's losing ground!" Kyouka said out aloud as the storm of snow and big blocks of hale was being thrown at the girl nonstop through the screen. Making everyone worried.

Toshinori gripped the table he was holding, the edges bending to his strength.

…

"Give up! You can't get through me!" Shoto screamed to warn her that he wasn't going to stop. The heavy raw power of his quirk was now overwhelming Izumi as she tried to hold her ground. Her suit was now taking serious damage as parts of it were breaking off or ripping due to the force blowing her away. Her armor was cracking under the weight of the onslaught as Izumi tried to cover her face. Her quirk was barely able to work in focus. Gritting her teeth, she tried to aim Black Whip towards Shotos' direction.

The tendrils bound to his wrist quickly but Shoto further intensified the force of his quirk. The next building over was also affected as a large hole from where Shoto was unleashing his quirk tore through the walls with ease.

One of the nearest blocks of Ice between Izumi and Shoto suddenly broke off…

And smacked into her visor head first… knocking her out almost instantly.

Shoto quickly turned his quirk off the moment he saw it unfold. His body heaved for a breath as the left side of his body and face started to freeze over. He then lit a fire providing enough heat on his right side as he defrosted himself. He walked towards Izumi to see if she was okay.

_"Young Todoroki, is young Midroiya unable to continue?" _the voice of All Might said through the earpiece. It was now down to two minutes within the timer and as Shoto walked close, he saw that Izumi completely covered in ice, except for her cracked helmet and head sticking out. Her eyes were closed and Shoto felt relief that she didn't seem that injured.

"I think so All Might…"

_"Good… we can end it here. I don't think Young Ashido made it in time too but-_

Rumbling was heard. The floor beneath him started to shake, as the whole building did as well. Shoto wondered what was going on until in a split second, Izumi's eyes opened wide in bright glowing red…

And the ice around her exploded.

**BOOM!**

Shoto made an ice sheet in time to protect him from the sudden blast but as the flare snuffed itself out. Multiple Tendrils of thicker width barged on the ice sheet and tightly bound all his arms and legs along his neck in quick succession. The ice then shattered as Shoto saw Izumi standing where she was, her eyes glowing brightly in red. The red protrusions along the top of her helmet discharging large amounts of electricity. Her suit was broken all over, even her cape was torn partially but the disturbing thing that surrounded her entire presence was the multiple tendrils of Black Whip appearing not just from her arms, but from her back, along with the rest of her body. Moving beside her like tentacles ready to grapple and crush anything its sight. Her face was weary and tired as she looked at Shoto…

Her eyes menacingly staring at his face.

The ties tightened around him, even along his neck that he started to gag a little.

"I GOT HIM!" Izumi suddenly shouted as her entire body heaved for a breath after everything she did. From her voice came the vision of Mina Ashido who ran into the middle of the spacious room, aimed her hands above the ceiling next to Shoto and burned a circular hole from it.

And from that hole came crashing down was Kirishima who was both in shock and shivers from the cold and surprise of what just occurred in a series of tight seconds. Mina triumphantly aimed her hands at Kirishima who yielded in place. Mina smiled at Izumi as Shoto finally understood that this was their plan. They never intended to get the ordinance with how heavily defended it was. The only thing that mattered was to subdue both enemies to secure the win.

Shoto felt failure on his part but was at the same time impressed at how the duo pulled it off. Especially on Izumi's part.

"THE HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might's voice said from the speakers inside the building. Mina happily cheered as Kirishima smiled at her. Shoto and Izumi on the other hand, was still locked in the same disposition they had earlier…

And as Mina cheered for their win, she stopped abruptly in silence seeing that Izumi was still grabbing Shoto tightly as she could with Black Whip… and Shoto was now gagging.

The bind around his throat was choking him.

"Izumi?" Mina said.

Izumi didn't flinch however, her eyes still red in color as she looked at Shoto in an expressionless state. Shoto felt fear fill his emotions and body as he tried to get himself out while the girl's bonds turned to tighten…

As if to kill him.

"IZUMI! Hey! It's done! We Won!" Mina said as worry was now entering her words. Kirishima stood up and before everyone could panic…

Izumi started to shake where she stood.

Shoto felt relief as the bonds loosened up. He clutched his neck as Black Whip receded back to Izumi. However, she didn't look okay and her eyes which returned to their normal color was more inclined to that of someone paralyzed. Blood now foamed on her lips and she gagged on it as her body went limp.

Before she could fall to the floor, Shoto was able to catch her.

Her eyes closed as she lost consciousness and a stream of blood trickled from her lips as Shoto held her. Mina and Kirishima rushed to her side as they called out for All Might's help.

What came out as victory that everyone celebrated was met with panic afterwards…

* * *

**FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER…**

Izumi's eyes finally opened. A groan escaped her lips as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. It was a familiar place to speak of. A place that he promised to never return to again. Turns out she did… and it was the second time on her part ever since the Entrance Exam. She looked at herself and found that she was still wearing her hero suit, albeit damaged significantly. She looked around the room and saw Recovery Girl smiling at her. Her bed was placed next to the window and a curtain covered her from the other side. Thankfully, it seemed like she didn't attain major injuries. Just a few bruises and scratches.

"Oh, you're finally awake dearie?"

"Y-Yeah… I feel better now. I think." Izumi said as she sat up. Her body was still sore, but compared to earlier today and in the battle trials, it seemed like the mysterious feeling of dread, uncertainty, and depression left her like it wasn't even there. She didn't even seem fazed by what happened yesterday as her thoughts dwindled on it.

She felt new again…

But for what reason, she couldn't say nor guess.

She looked at her palms at Recovery Girl did one last check up on her.

"Now the next time you end up here, you better have good reason to okay? You only suffered a minor blood loss. The bruises and scratches you accumulated weren't that bad so I think you fared better today than last time…"

"Thank you and uh, sorry about… getting myself back here again."

The old woman smirked.

"Don't think about it too much dearie… but please stop going back here. As much as I love seeing you students, I would mind that the reason of your visit is not related to such imposing injuries or sickness that needs healing."

Izumi meekly smiled.

"Of course…"

"Good then, you're cleared to go. Oh, and I almost forgot, some of your classmates are waiting outside my office. They were a lot of them earlier, but since lessons still went on, I managed to convince them to go back once they're done."

Izumi nodded, and felt a bit of guilt yet again for making her classmates worry about her. It was a problem early that day with how erratic her quirk acted, but now that she was back to normal, she was a bit scared of what they would think of her.

Most of all…

Since she nearly choked Shoto to death.

She placed her feet on the floor, trying to gain strength to stand. Recovery Girl pushed the curtain away from her bed as Izumi looked at the window.

"How long was I out?"

"Not that long fortunately… I'm happy that you did wake up. Otherwise I would have called your mother again." Recovery Girl said. Izumi then realized that she had to explain this to her mother and All Might later as this new development made her feel that it could endanger someone else around her should she not be able to control it.

She looked at her hands and recalled how her instincts seemed to guide her to kill Shoto at that spot. It disturbed her greatly, thanking luck that she managed to stop the moment her quirk reached its limit. She then looked at Recovery Girl to say her goodbyes, when the door to the Nurse's office opened and out came Mina who was ecstatic seeing her alright.

The girl rushed to her as she enveloped her into a relieving hug. Behind her, Momo, Kirishima, Uraraka, and surprisingly Shoto came inside. They all looked relieved to see her alright after being worried seeing the outcome of the first battle trial.

"Thank God you're okay! I thought my partner was lost from me!" Mina dramatically said, though she was indeed happy to see Izumi and to the redhead girl, she simply smiled while giving back the favor.

They separated as Momo sat beside her, while Mina sat on the other side. Momo conjoined her hand on Izumi's to comfort her.

"Kyouka and others are still finishing their tests… As for me, I got to finish mine rather quickly too. Even if my partner was less than desired… but he helped." Momo admitted as laughs were exchanged. Izumi recalled that Mineta was her partner.

"Everyone got inspired by the thing you guys did Midoriya… you should have seen their faces at how happy and determined they were after our session ended." Kirishima acknowledged.

"Really? I don't even think I did that well to be honest with you guys…" Izumi said as Mina rested her head on her shoulder.

"Oh come on Izumi, you won us that fight! And I have to say seeing you and Shoto deck it out was amazing." Mina said. Izumi then awkwardly looked at Shoto who was staring down at her. Not a word coming out from his mouth.

"I have to agree, though the specifics of how your plan worked out was quite impressive. There were flaws that I pointed out to the class but I think overall that was a worthy try." Momo explained. Izumi felt a sense of gratitude that she returned back at her as she looked at Shoto once more.

"Hey…" she said as she looked at him.

An eyebrow was raised on his part.

"Sorry about… what happened."

"You were only doing what needed to be done to win the fight, that in itself is respect coming from me." He proclaimed as Izumi smiled a bit at his reply.

"I thought you were going to hate me at first…" Izumi said.

"I do a bit. My neck still hurts you know."

A courteous and comforting laugh was exchanged as Izumi bonded with her classmates. It was there where she realized that these new companions of hers inside the school was more than she first anticipated them to be…

And for the first time in her lifetime, she felt happy going to school and meeting new friends.

Especially those that belonged in her class. While the threat of misuse with her quirk remained, she knew that with the people around her eager to help her, there was no problem that she couldn't bypass with their help.

And at the very least… she drew comfort knowing that.

As she enjoyed the company of her friends, the door to the Nurse's office opened and closed as two adults entered the room. One of them, namely Inko herself looked rather disappointed and furious at Izumi. Kaguya was beside her and as the room went silent, deathly silent as the tension Inko was carrying made Izumi pale in fear.

"Excuse me... but I think I need to talk to my daughter please." Inko firmly said, as she locked eyes with Izumi. Angry about something that the redhead girl withheld from her. From some odd feeling deep inside her, the redhead girl knew the reason why her mother was furious.

With a sharp gulp, she hoped that she wasn't too mad.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**AN: Another chapter done! Ahahaha... and I have to say I that ending it there was fine. As for next chapter, tensions will be diffused for a bit as we develop Izumi's relationship with her classmates and loved ones. A threat still remains in the horizon as we go closer and closer to the USJ incident. I hope you like this chapter, as the fight itself was not an easy thing to do. I did three iterations of it, only one seemed to fit the type of fighter I want Izumi to be. **

**That's all for now... and I hope you wait for what comes next. ****Reviews are also appreciated, if you have questions PM me as well. :)**

**NEXT CHAPTER: The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 1 - Izumi and Inko talk about the new things she experiences with her quirk in the aftermath of the Battle Trials. As to what good or bad it means for her condition is unknown as she returns to the arms of her friends and loved ones. Unaware of the danger that looms ahead. A danger that is too close to home of which no one realizes...**

**SideStory #11 Coming Soon**


	26. SideStory 11: The Nameless Fear

SideStory #11

"The Nameless Fear"

The very moment Izumi unleashed her plan towards everyone inside the situation room, a feeling of surprise and amazement filled the air. Particularly those closest to Izumi as they triumphantly saw what Mina and her did in the fight's final moments. Toshinori was rather impressed as well when they managed to pull off a last minute surprise given how much time was left in the simulation. A few cheers among the class was heard, mostly cheers of joy coupled with impressed looks and soft claps.

However, tensions and worries rose the moment Izumi didn't release Shoto Todoroki from her grip. It lasted only a few seconds but the entire room went silent. A sudden feeling of concern enveloped Class 1-A and this only worsened once Izumi collapsed on spot. Toshinori didn't know what to think as three of Izumi's friends along with Tenya rushed to help her from the situation room. Those of the likes that remained were left in shock and confusion. Most of them had never seen the drawback of her quirk yet, so seeing her bleed right there on the spot made everyone surprised. Most of them drew concern for her, even Katsuki was relatively silent seeing Izumi like this for the first time.

He had heard about the Entrance Exam.

But seeing it like this was different.

He grumbled in response as he frowned at what happened. This day allowed him to collect so many questions in regards to Izumi. Seeing her cry earlier at lunch and now this… it made him ask what exactly was the girl's quirk in the first place. And what the hell was happening to her that day?

He would find out soon, even if he needed to confront her in a less than friendly way.

But for what reason exactly that he cared for her, he didn't know.

Meanwhile, as Toshinori rushed over to Izumi's position, her friends and the companions she shared within the battle trials accompanied her to the infirmary for Recovery Girl's care. When he was left to his own musings, he decided to call Inko through his phone.

Sparing a few minutes to tell her wouldn't hurt.

Besides, the class was too occupied right now to directly move into the next simulation.

He waited for someone to answer the call as he stood there. Thankfully it didn't take long and Inko's voice was heard on the other end of the line.

"Hey, I'm surprised you called. What's the occasion?" Inko happily asked.

"Young Izumi collapsed just now." he said.

Inko took a few seconds before replying back with a concerned tone.

"Tell me what happened."

"Well for starters, the simulation was fairly okay up until it ended. Her team won the fight with her rather impressive tactic, but as soon as I announced that they won, she froze in place."

"She froze? In place?"

"Yes… do you remember what I told you with what Kaguya and I saw on the very first day of her training?"

Inko sighed in worry.

"I do."

"Well this wasn't anything different. Except that she froze… and nearly strangled her classmate to death with how strong her grip on him was."

"What? S-She did that?" Toshinori felt that Inko's concern doubled, and through the background noise he heard on the call, he discerned that she was doubling her pace to get to Izumi as quickly as possible.

"Yes. What I noticed clearly was the expression on her face, like she was trying so hard to control her quirk. I've never seen that before, and I thought she already had a good grasp at controlling it with the dampener on her head."

"Shit. Where did they take her again? To the infirmary?" Inko's voice was noticeably panicking. Her footsteps were heard through the call and he swore that he could hear another set behind her. Probably Kaguya. But to what reason she was panicking was unknown to her. He knew that this was an occurrence that happened when the girl overtaxed her quirk, but he didn't know why Inko harbored such sudden concern hearing what he just said.

"Tell me… were her eyes switching from glowing red to normal?"

"Not that I could remember… but maybe?"

"Damn it! I knew something was wrong last night and early this morning she didn't even talk to me! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she accused herself as her desperation was heard loud and clear.

"Calm down… tell me what's bothering you."

"Listen, do you remember the details I all told you about Izumi's quirk?"

Toshinori recalled that night in full detail, specifically because it changed what came after for the girl's situation. All of those noted observations of what the quirk does made him concerned greatly for the girl and what it meant for the world in general. No one was going to be ready for this once this came out to everyone. It was impossible for no one to take advantage of this knowledge.

Least of all the enemies he encountered in the past.

"I do. What of it?"

"I think this has to do with her quirk's need to consume other quirks within her vicinity. The whole reason it exists is to locate and hunt quirks for its own volition right? I'm concerned that this is what she's experiencing right now."

The thought made him shudder.

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling… because last night the way she talked to me and how silent she was… that wasn't normal. I know how Izumi acts most of the time and even with the fiasco yesterday with those thieves, I know for a fact that she can handle her emotions well enough for herself. But today, she's been quiet. A bit too quiet. Like she was hiding something from us."

Thankfully if that was the case, then handling it this early on would prove to be beneficial.

"Alright, you talk to her. I still got a class to finish. I wish the best of luck for both of you."

"We still need to talk to her later. I need your help, because if what I'm thinking right now is true… then Izumi might be in trouble." Inko firmly said.

The prospect about that made him fear for the worst. He hoped that it wasn't the case.

Still…

"I'll see you later then."

"Likewise." Inko said as she turned the call down. Toshinori put his phone away as he wondered what to do with the girl next. With everything that was coming to play, it seemed the worst really was ahead of them and he hoped that there was enough time for the girl to be ready.

He walked back to situation room in a hurry as his thoughts returned to his class. Izumi was safe for now, so he had to make sure to complete the tasks given to him at that moment. Opening the door to the situation room, immediately most of Class 1-A rushed to his position.

Most of them asking if she was alright and what exactly happened down there.

A flurry of questions continued to pile up as he saw Uraraka, Toru, Tokoyami, even Kaminari and Mineta asking about Izumi's wellbeing along with what happened with Shoto and the others. Toshinori was overwhelmed but rather felt comfort seeing that they cared about her.

"All Might… is she okay?" Katsuki gruffly asked.

Toshinori and the class looked at the blonde boy's direction.

"She is, and don't worry about her. Recovery Girl will make sure she's alright." He explained.

Katsuki turned away as footage of Izumi still littered the screens. The way All Might sounded felt like he was keeping something from them. He frowned in response to that, knowing that something else was wrong with her. He knew it. He did see her crying earlier alone.

But for what it was exactly, he couldn't say for certain.

"Dude, what a way to start this day though! Did you see how cool their fight was?" Sero said, sparking a conversation amongst the class about doing better than what Izumi started. This in turn made everyone more so determined and excited to start their own simulations together. Making it easier for Toshinori to make this lesson all the more enjoyable for them.

He smiled at them with one of his famous poses and declared the continuation of the class.

While also thanking that Izumi wasn't alone in her endeavor towards her situation.

She had her classmates to back her up, and he was happy enough to know that.

* * *

_**She nearly lost control there… were it not my assistance, I believe something terrible may have happened. **__Nana Shimura said, as joining her were seven other entities. Her hair and white cape flowed behind her as they watched everything as it transpired through the girl's eyes._

_**Does your successor even know the real danger this girl possesses? Because we've all felt it. I'm sure you all know what this means once she does lose control in the future. 'One for All' must not be made a tool of destruction, yet this girl's native quirk makes me fear the worst of our situation. **__A bald man in a black jacket said as he looked at Nana._

_ Nana herself was not convinced by this._

_ She was the closest one to the girl in terms of how much she interacted with her. She guided her subtly too in some cases, and even when the transfer was abrupt and sudden… she never saw a person that would one day replace the great enemy that killed all of them in the past._

_ She knew for sure that this girl was in fact _the _**right choice.**_

_ Yet it seemed most of the companions she shared space with, did not agree to her assessment._

_**I think we should wait before we decide. The girl is far too young for us to say that she's unworthy. Look at us, all of those who passed on 'One for All' to the next person knows that the choice was not a thing we were all sure of. But look at us now… a failure we may be in our own lifetimes, yet here we stand, knowing full well that the choice was never wrong in the slightest.**_

_** She needs time to learn… and only then can we say that she is worthy.**_

_Nana smiled, she never knew this holder of One for All back in her day but seeing that he made point of which the others agreed to made her thoughts on the girl justified. Toshinori was in fact quirkless, and look what he turned out._

_ She couldn't be prouder with what he became and she could see it well enough in her successor's eyes that he had belief in the girl's ability._

_ Belief to change the world that is._

_**We still need to prepare for the worst. A darkness looms over her. A darkness that has power even over us. We may hold it back through the girl's connection to empathy and kindness, but at the end of the day it is up to her to make sure the monster inside her does not come out.**_

_Nana looked at the owner of the voice…_

_ She only knew him as the first and he did have a large point to consider. She has already seen this monstrosity. Dormant at most in the time they were with the girl, but now that its hunger is permeating the surface, she feared for the girl's self-control._

_ Hoping that she could pull through._

_**I believe in Toshinori. He is blunt and flawed but his judgement is astute. If he believes in this girl, then I am inclined to follow his views. Separated we all may be across generations, but if the best of us who survived and made the world a better place puts his stake on this girl then it has more merit than I care to assume. **__Nana said._

_ Silence came upon all of them._

_ They were unsure of the current events laid out at present. The girl's future was uncertain. Very uncertain to the point that tipping the balance will cause a tragedy that could harm and kill innocents. Worst of all, the girl's own misgivings getting the better of her and in the world seizing her for it._

_ They had seen it up close what the girl's quirk was._

_ They had seen the dangers and the darkness it contained._

_ Lost voices of the dead haunt her mind, only to be stopped by their intervention. They all wondered at the same time, whatever could have happened if 'One for All' was not assimilated into the girl's body._

_ Nana knew best not to think of that outcome._

_ For she knew that it could be fate that drew her to have 'One for All'. Because without it-_

_ She may have turned into something this world had never seen…_

_ A nameless fear that preyed upon everything._

_ A sigh came over them all. Luckily that outcome was far from turning into reality. With their guidance and help, they hoped that was the case. They hoped that this girl's future was not of the monster they all feared for her to turn into._

TO BE CONTINUED ON CHAPTER 14

* * *

**AN: Hi guys! Here again we have finished another SideStory… and yes this does take place on that small time period before Izumi's awakening. As for the scene in the ending of this, I can confirm that it could have been a large possibility that without 'One for All' nothing would have stopped Izumi from turning into a monster. This was the reality that Juno was hoping for, but since 'One for All' was introduced into the mix, it acted as a counterbalance to her very vulnerable state. Allowing her to use her quirk without the fear of overextending the natural tendencies of 'Agony's Embrace'. **

**Without it, well I can morbidly say that things would have gotten different in the story. Haha. **

**Leave a review if possible and thanks for the continued support!**

**Oh… and if anyone's down for an Overlord fanfic, I have posted one in my profile. Care to check that out too and I hope you like it as well! This story will take priority over that, but I'm excited of the possibilities it entails!**

**That's all from me at this time, and I do hope you stay for what comes next and yes… it's a 2-parter that will lead to this story's version of the USJ incident. Stay safe til' then guys! Bye! :)**


	27. XIV The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 1

**Sorry this took longer, got busy with real life recently as well as developing plans on another story I post here in . I hope this lenghtier chapter compensates for that. I hope you enjoy...**

* * *

XIV. The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 1

Katsuki Bakugou was waiting outside of UA's gates. The day had already been finished after the Battle Trials overseen by All Might. After the very first simulation however (done by Izumi and her group), everyone in the class started to do better and make the best out of themselves to continue on the spirit started by the Redhead Girl. A lot of very interesting match-ups was done throughout the day and even though some had failed, those who won merely made the day brighter for all of them. This in turn, gradually increased the camaraderie for the entirety of Class 1-A, all thanks to the performance of Izumi and how she pulled off her plan in their simulation. However, it remained a concern for most of them on what exactly happened to her at the standoff at the very end, luckily it seemed the class' concerns were alleviated once a few of them had gone to visit Izumi in the infirmary. Not much was known after that as classes were basically over after the last simulation. In fact, they were one of the last students from UA to go home at that hour.

The sun was nearing the edge to set for the day. For Katsuki, he decided to wait for Izumi since he had questions. Questions that he wants answers to. He saw that Izumi had something wrong with her the moment the first simulation ended. The way her eyes contorted to that of a paralyzed and stunned state before passing out was something he noticed really well. The way her eyes blinked from red to normal along with the small moment where she nearly strangled Shoto to death put a bit more questions in his head. That and the way she came to school today; how quiet and removed she was from the entire class.

Seeing her cry during lunch made him discern that something was indeed wrong.

As to what it was, he couldn't answer. Which is why he wanted a chat face to face for him to feel at ease. He still never knew what exactly was the reason he was doing this, but he figured the easing his mind by getting the answers he needed could stop this weird set of confused emotions he held.

Maybe.

It was nearing half an hour as he stood by the gates of UA. Most of his classmates had passed by. Some sneering at him, some saying their goodbyes, and some completely ignoring him. He didn't care at all at what they thought of him, since to him all of them were extras. He was bound to be the number one hero someday and he knew it best inside him.

Himiko stopped by to wave at him, along with the invisible girl and that punk-rock tomboy. They were active in a conversation as they passed by and even though Himiko shared a quick glance for him, he never cared to glance nor react back.

To be fair, he had seen almost all of his classmates pass by him at that moment. Yet he never saw Izumi yet. It was odd too considering that Izumi always stuck with the blonde smiling girl or at the very least she would talk with her new friends. Seeing them without her made him feel suspicious.

He was losing his patience as well at that particular moment.

Being a person with admittedly short patience made this decision of his, a chore.

He hated waiting. People should wait for him, not the opposite. Yet he really wanted to know badly from Izumi what happened today with her. Making it so that he adds a bit more patience than needed from him usually. Although, should he meet her, he would serve some payback. Making her realize that it isn't wise to do things like this to him.

Even if it was his decision after all.

He grumbled underneath his breath thinking about it. It had been more than a half hour now and he still hadn't seen her. He cursed Izumi for making him wait this long. Now he was sure that his revenge would be short and sweet on her.

Soon after thinking that, he heard two voices approaching his position at the gates. Seeing that it was impossible for Izumi not to be part of the two, he angrily sighed and revealed himself. Only to see that the ones who were there were Momo and Shoto talking about something.

They paused the moment they saw him, as anticipated Izumi than them.

Momo awkwardly smiled and Shoto never even changed his expression.

"Uh hello… Bakugou right?" Momo asked.

"Tsk. I thought Deku was with you. Could have sworn she would have gone home by now." he said in annoyance. He sighed again in frustration as Momo looked at Shoto, to which the other boy simply shrugged at.

"Izumi's gone home earlier than expected. Her mother took her home after she woke up in the infirmary." Momo explained. The moment she did, Katsuki fumed as he slapped his face at being so stupid waiting this long only to be told that she was gone from the school.

He gritted his teeth in anger. Tomorrow for sure.

"Damn it! Since when was that?" he asked.

"Since about an hour ago. She never even got to say goodbye to Himiko and Kyouka." Momo told him, making him understand why exactly the blonde girl wasn't with Izumi when she passed by.

"Uh, why exactly do you want to see Izumi? Do you need something from her?" Momo asked.

"That's none of your fucking business." Katsuki said with a bit of venom in his voice. Ideally, Momo would try and defend her claim against such an insult. Yet she already knew that from Izumi and Himiko themselves that it was pointless arguing with him. She sighed and started to walk away from them.

"I'll see you tomorrow Todoroki." Momo said as she walked away. A limousine was parked near the gates waiting for her and with a final wave to both of them (even Katsuki), the car departed. Leaving Shoto and Katsuki alone with the sun setting against UA's campus grounds.

"I'll be off as well." Shoto said.

Katsuki then looked at the smug, expressionless boy beside him and before he could go any further, he grabbed his arm and forced him to face him.

"Do you have a problem?" Shoto said as he looked at Katsuki, eye to eye. The blonde boy never liked how he acted even towards him. The disdain he felt tripled when he saw that even Shoto was starting to get pissed off. The way Katsuki's eyes acted towards him made him frown deeply. It reminded him of someone else. He forcibly took his arm back as he waited for Katsuki to do anything.

Tensions were strong between them as Katsuki wanted to punch Shoto's face in.

Yet they knew that doing it on school grounds would result in an offense for both of them. Luckily, the tensions deflated and Katsuki was forced to look away, not wanting to share his glance towards him as Shoto continued to stare with narrow eyes.

Shoto then asked a question that made Katsuki flinch.

"If you said you don't care about anyone in class… then why the heck are you paying so much close attention to Midoriya?"

Katsuki was forced to look at him as he tried to give out a response. He clenched his fists as the half and half boy looked at him with ferocity. Wanting to get an answer out of his mouth.

"I thought I told the bitch earlier that it was none of your goddamn business!" he said as he roughly pressed his finger on Shoto's chest to point it out.

"Alright then, if you won't tell me about it then I better leave you alone." Shoto angrily said as he started to walk away. Katsuki, furious at his sudden disinterest tried to say something but the words couldn't leave his mouth. Seeing that he had nothing to say, the other teen started to walk away from him. Katsuki wanted to fume and kick his ass, but it was irrelevant at this point.

Yet…

"I saw her cry alone during lunch. That's the reason I wanted to talk to her dipshit." He said, the moment the statement was heard by Shoto, he turned his head and wondered if it was true. Although the guy himself was too loud and obnoxious to tell lies, but the part about Izumi did keep him curious.

"What difference does that make to me? I don't care about her. That's on you to ask her about it." Shoto replied, making Katsuki fume but he didn't say anything to reply against that.

"Fuck it… just tell me one thing about her in the first simulation against her and we'll forget any of this bullshit that happened between us."

"And what is that?"

"What happened to her on that very last minute, when she choked you to death?"

Shoto couldn't say. It came as a surprise to him too. The way how her face reacted to the sudden tightness of her grip made him shocked a bit. As he knew that the girl was far too kind and friendly to do anything remotely resembling violence against her peers. Sure, she did a very good number on him during their hand to hand fight but none of them was made to injure him severely. Only to subdue him with enough strength to get him out of the game.

The grip she made was different too. The way it tightened around his neck was that with the intent to kill. Her face said otherwise however and she blacked out seconds after with that horrified and scared expression upon her face.

He wanted to ask her about it there with Izumi in the infirmary, if it weren't for the sudden appearance of her mother, he would have known.

"I don't really know what to say. I was surprised myself seeing her like that. Have you ever seen her act like that before?" Shoto asked.

"No… Deku is too much of a snowflake to do anything to people around her, especially people she deems as friends."

Shoto widened his eyes partially at that.

"Friends huh?"

Katsuki frowned.

"What of it? Of course she treats her classmates like they're her goddamn friends. Back in our school barely anyone tried to talk to her, it was only either that blonde bitch or me." He cursed after knowing that Izumi's behavior was suspicious. "I don't get why she acted that way. Nor why she was so quiet in class. Deku is far too stupid with her pathetic dumb heart to even remotely act like this. Crying on spot without any reason at all makes me think something's going on."

"What do you think it is?" Shoto asked, curious to know what the blonde explosive boy thinks.

"Why do you care?" Katsuki suddenly said as he then realized that he was technically saying too much to Shoto at this point. Too much that might give him a different impression about himself. He hated that, as it could imply into something else.

Luckily Shoto simply groaned in response and turned his back. Walking away from him.

He did have a point. Why on earth would he care about Izumi in the first place? She was a rival after all. His defeat in her hands made him realize that something needed to change. Even if it meant doing something drastic the next time Izumi and him come face to face.

Katsuki on the other hand, was left to confused thoughts. He cursed himself yet again for these stupid delusions. Yet he did want to know what was up… and he reckoned that he would try his damnest to approach her about it tomorrow. He was adamant to do that as he walked away with an annoyed demeanor. As he walked, he couldn't stop thinking still about Izumi crying alone in the gardens.

He hated being obsessed about it. But he couldn't get it out of his head.

Shoto Todoroki however, saw Katsuki walk away from the UA campus on foot from the car his sister used. He was quiet at first as he contemplated on what the blonde boy said. He looked out the window watching him walk away as the care drove out of sight.

"You look a bit frustrated there… do you have a problem?" his sister asked.

Shoto finally wore the seatbelt as they pulled through the main highway. He fixed the way he was seating, looking forward to the windshield as cars and buildings passed by.

"Shoto… I asked you a question." Fuyumi reiterated. While her tone was assertive, it didn't contain any ill will. Just a bit of concern with how her brother was doing.

"Don't talk like that… you remind me of her." Shoto said as a wave of sadness came over them. Fuyumi felt a bit of guilt coming from her as she placed one of her hands on his shoulder to give it a comforting touch. She tried to smile at him as he continued to go expressionless.

"I'm sorry. But, since I'm the only one you got at home that mostly takes care of you. I just wish that you and I have an understanding that we can agree on. A common ground if you will. It doesn't have to be with dad…" Fuyumi then sadly smiled. "nor with mom."

"But you know that you can talk to me. So please just humor me into a conversation alright?"

Shoto stared at her and nodded.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"It's okay. I understand." Shoto grumbled in response as Fuyumi waited for him to reply.

"It's about a girl."

Her eyes widened. This was unexpected coming from him. Her little brother was troubled, by a girl? For some odd reason excitement bubbled in her emotions. She wanted to press further and while killing them from her excitement just because she was driving, was bad… it didn't mean that she couldn't ask a few juicy details as to what he means about that exactly.

"Go on…" Fuyumi said, luckily a traffic light stopped their car momentarily.

"Do you remember the girl that helped me buy you those books? The one that we saw at the Aldera Memorial?" Shoto asked, his expression unchanged.

"Izuka, was that her name? The pretty redhead?" Fuyumi guessed. She did like that girl pretty well the moment she saw her. It made her wonder what exactly encouraged her to talk to Shoto, not that she didn't think her little brother was _that _unsociable…

"Izumi…" Shoto corrected.

"Wait… you've been thinking about her?" Fuyumi said in realization as the traffic light went green.

"Not exactly." Shoto said, wondering why on Earth her sister seemed so surprised and excited with what they're talking about.

"What do you mean?"

* * *

17:56 Hours, Toshinori Yagi's Residence…

The usually short car ride to Toshinori's residence was abnormally quiet and longer than expected. The car, driven by Kaguya was mostly a silent affair. Tensions between mother and daughter who rode at the back was mostly kept in a standstill. Izumi was basically guilty with fear coming off from how her mother reacted to seeing her in the infirmary. It wasn't even that much of a stretch to say that she was really, really disappointed at her. Back then she was very vocal when she was angry at Izumi, but now it was different than what she expected. Instead of getting mad at her, she was given the silent treatment. With her mother barely even talking nor sparing a glance at her direction. It made Izumi really upset, knowing that her mother whom was pretty much happy and proud with Izumi's efforts at this point, was largely disappointed with how much she kept from her about these new developments regarding her quirk. To be fair to her, she didn't even know how to approach to Inko about it earlier… resulting into a very quiet interaction between them.

Izumi hoped that her mother would talk to her. Perhaps explaining some things to her would stop this divide between them again. A divide that was largely closed after the events of last year. Their rekindled relationship was something that Izumi really wanted to maintain. Inko as well desired that, but she was largely concerned, worried, and downtrodden knowing what happened with Izumi at school.

In fact, she wasn't even that angry at all with her. A bit was still there, but not entirely the reason as to why she was so quiet towards her.

She was just put into a series of thoughts that scared her with how her daughter's life will turn out in the next few months or days. Uncertainty was their enemy now and Inko knew it best.

The very moment they arrived at Toshinori's residence about two hours ago, Izumi was still guilty seeing how sad and visibly quiet Inko was. It turned to be that way still even when they entered their temporary home for the time being. Kaguya was tasked by Inko to make her some tea to calm her nerves down. The woman left instantly after that, leaving Inko and Izumi at the living room of the house alone. It took some time putting off the weight on their shoulders, but Inko managed to tell Izumi to get some rest at the room they shared. Izumi wordlessly nodded in agreement as she walked away upstairs. Inko on the other hand simply frowned at this air between them.

She didn't enjoy nor like it all. She heeded the words of what Juno said before about Izumi, and she knew that those warnings were becoming reality progressively faster than she hoped. Not only that, but she was really sad making it seem like they were back to those times again…

Back in the past where she was barely a mother to her.

She didn't want that anymore. She told herself to change and recently she believed that. So in some sense, she had to make this right. But they needed a little time off from each other until then.

Toshinori arrived an hour later, having a short meeting with the staff about the rumors placed on the school of All Might teaching there, as well as the new developments regarding what happened in the Battle Trials. Nemuri even managed to get a phone call in to Inko before the meeting the ended. Explaining to her what needed to be done so that the girl's condition wouldn't worsen through time. Thankfully, Izumi wasn't at that level yet where worry was needed in place over everyone's safety and hers. That also meant that they had to observe her far more closely this time. Toshinori even told her while they shared a quick dinner together that Aizawa plans to monitor her most of the time during classes under his tutelage. This went for the rest of the staff as well, and in no circumstance should Izumi be allowed to be out of sight from the teachers themselves. This wouldn't be a problem for the teachers in terms of making sure everything is discreet and to provide zero panic towards the other students and her, since Izumi herself was pretty much an obedient student as proven even back then.

After the dinner however, Toshinori convinced her to talk to the girl and bring her dinner she missed inside the room they shared for the night. The reason being was that Izumi managed to sleep the instant she arrived at the room and hadn't woken up until Kaguya told them that she was awake. Reluctant and scared at first, with a little push of faith from him, she managed to go along. Convincing herself that she had to uphold the promise of being a mother to her daughter.

Now here she was… holding a tray in her hands, at the door of the closed room Izumi was in.

She looked at the corner of her eyes and saw Kaguya standing there. She had the demeanor of subtly telling her that should she need assistance, she would gladly do it. Inko brushed her off with a smile, reassuring her that this was better off being the two of them alone rather than having another person there. Kaguya understood this with a curtly nod and she backed away after Toshinori downstairs called for her to help with something.

Once again, she was alone in the hallways of yet another house. Standing outside the door of her daughter's room. Hoping that nothing was wrong. A sudden wave of nostalgia came over her.

Bad nostalgia that is.

It reminded her too much of that night where she basically spat Izumi's dream back to her face. Every detail was fresh in her mind recalling that night. She felt terrible now looking back, as she was barely five at that age and how harsh she was towards her was clear as the eye can see. Even Nemuri managed to berate her for so many times because of that single moment.

Yet here she was again. Both of them not in favorable terms to say the least.

She sighed heavily. She didn't want another repeat of that and hopefully it wasn't going to be. She wanted to talk to her after all, and doing so would help the girl's condition. Being a mother was hard for sure, but she already took this job with the heavy responsibility it took and Izumi was already a prime figure of importance in her life. The only important figure that she loved so dearly.

With a deep breath, she gently knocked on the door.

"M-Mom? Is that you?" Izumi asked. Inko was surprised to hear that her daughter expected her, leading her to think that it was either because of her quirk, or she was just genuinely expecting her to be the first person to talk to.

Either way, she was glad that her voice didn't seem afraid.

"Yes… it's me Izumi."

"You can come in. The door isn't locked."

Inko held the tray as she focused her mind towards the doorknob. The door opened afterwards as she pushed it away with her quirk in a slower manner. Hoping to ease the mood between them by showing her comfort and reassurance. Inko saw her daughter sitting at the head of the bead, her waist under covered by blankets and in her lap was a pillow. Her headband had been removed and placed on the tabletop at the bedside, next to the lamp. Her hair was disheveled, but otherwise she looked fine and better than what came before. She had a relaxed mood within her and her usual cheery self was back, although a bit guilty and afraid that Inko would lash out.

Inko gave a warm smile at her the moment they saw each other. Izumi did so as well in response as Inko closed the door behind her slowly again with her quirk. She walked next to Izumi's side and settled the tray in her lap, taking the pillow away to the side so she can eat properly.

"I brought you dinner. It isn't my cooking but it's Kaguya's. At the very least it isn't Toshinori's." Inko teased as a soft chuckled emerged from Izumi. The girl then slowly started to eat the meal given to her. A stark contrast to the meal she had on lunch, of which she barely ate at all. Inko then softly moved closer to Izumi as she laid herself on the headrest next to the girl. Inko then placed a loving hand on Izumi's crimson hair and stroked it peacefully.

A soft silence was shared between them. Between Izumi's meal and the small distance between them because of an earlier argument, it seemed like everything was in a recluse, calm state. Inko then put her left arm to pull Izumi closer to her. The girl in response placed her head on her mother's shoulders. Inko promptly kissed the top of Izumi's head as the soft silence between them permeated into a loving, and understanding kind.

"It hasn't been an easy week for you hasn't it?" Inko said.

The girl moaned in response as Inko held her closer.

"It isn't for me as well. Too many changes happening in just a short span of days. I'm more worried about how you're adapting to all of this more so than I."

The girl smiled, acknowledging how thoughtful her mother was looking after her. It was true, it had been a rough week for her. Starting at UA was a joy she wanted so bad in life, but ever since she set foot upon her grounds, it was nothing but a set of trials and problems. Not all of it was bad of course, but with how the week was progressing for Izumi, she knew that she was being overwhelmed at all sides.

"I'm sorry mom." She said with a small voice.

"What did I tell you about saying sorry?" Inko replied with a smile. Izumi meekly chuckled, recalling the last time she said such things to her.

"But in all seriousness Izumi, you don't need to be sorry. I guess I can see why you didn't want to tell me about it. You've been worried about me as well haven't you?"

Izumi nodded. Truthfully to some extent, her mother had a visible strain ever since she got enrolled at UA. Her mother was in a sense overwhelmed as well, with how quiet and tired she looked with each time she came home or how each time was spent on worrying about her. A part of her told herself that she didn't want to a bother into the set of problems her mother was already experiencing.

Which unknown to her, was that all of Izumi's problems stem from the girl herself. Everything was in slight disarray with what's been happening recently, and Inko was already close to the brink of bearing too much weight on her shoulders.

Yet it didn't matter for her in the slightest. Izumi was a priority that warranted every single time spent on good faith for her well-being.

"I'm sorry as well if I came out a bit too angry earlier. I was just worried about you…" Inko softly said. Izumi lovingly pressed her head closer to Inko's shoulder as the older woman rested her head on top of hers. The mother and daughter smiled at that gesture to each other.

"Izumi?"

"What is it mom?"

"Just tell me what's going on with you next time. I hate seeing you like this. I hate worrying all the time thinking something bad is going to happen to you. So please make sure to tell me what's wrong and I'll try to help with the best I can." Inko said. Izumi nodded when she heard that, assuring even herself to uphold that request.

"You know that I love you so much… you're the only important thing left in my life and I'm afraid of losing you." Inko added as the girl smiled in thanks and love.

"Love you, mom." Izumi whispered.

Inko chuckled softly as they stayed that way on the bed. Holding each other in a soft embrace. Izumi then asked a question that was bothering her ever since she and her mother made up a year ago.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"C-Can you tell me… who my dad was?"

Inko suddenly diverted all her attention towards the sudden question. It wasn't that she didn't expect her to ask it again (after many times that is) but after she changed to better suit her relationship between her and Izumi, this would be the first time where Inko was asked this question. Face to face and she knew that keeping this secret from the girl for too long was wrong on so many aspects.

She was afraid to tell the whole truth to her, but she couldn't bar her from it entirely as well.

"I-it's okay if you don't want to. I understand… t-that it's a sore subject. But I really do want to know, because I don't even know what his name is." Izumi said with a sad tone.

Inko bit her lip.

"It's not that I don't want you to know anything about him Izumi. It's just hard trying to talk about him to you." Inko admitted.

"Can I ask why?"

Inko looked at Izumi, her eyes full of curiosity that came with a bit of sadness, afraid and eager to know about her father. Even if Hisashi wasn't technically hers to begin with.

But neither was she her real mother as well.

Swallowing hard to the question, she finally decided that she could say something.

"Mom?" Izumi pressed, hoping that she didn't make her that sad or in pain. Inko then looked at her and conjoined their hands. Squeezing tightly, Inko smiled with sadness at her and spoke.

"He's gone Izumi. The reason I never talked about him at all with you is because he's gone."

Izumi's surprise was visible. She had a gut feeling that it was the case long ago, but hearing it now was different. As a mix of emotions during that spur of a moment bubbled up inside of her.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." Inko apologized.

"N-No… it's okay. I can see why you'd keep me out of it." Izumi admitted.

"It's not that I wanted to Izumi. But talking about him is genuinely hard, especially on me. It's not that I never wanted for you to know about him, but with the way things ended up for both of us in life, I kept it away from you so that you wouldn't be in pain knowing that he was gone."

Normally, Inko would be brought to tears at this moment. Yet she already had closure with Hisashi's death, and a mere sad smile coupled with how Izumi reacted to all of this made her feel better in letting it out for her.

Izumi wasn't exactly okay hearing these things, but she took it far better than Inko surmised.

"How long ago was it?" Izumi asked.

"Before you were even born." Inko admitted. They were in fact in their third year of high school before Inko vanished without a trace. Looking at it now however, should Hisashi had turned out alive, he would have loved Izumi with all his heart, regardless of her background.

They would have been a family.

Alas, it was not to be. Merely thinking about it now made Inko feel a large pain coming from her heart. Izumi on the other hand, wished that it wasn't the case for her and Inko. But knowing about the great mystery of a father she never knew felt different than what she expected.

She should have been in tears and sadness knowing about all of this, but she barely knew the man at all, and the only familial figures in her life that mattered to her greatly was Nemuri, Inko, and recently, All Might. Although the thought still made her curious, so she pressed on her questions to Inko herself.

"M-Mom, i-if it isn't a problem, c-can you at least tell me about him?"

Inko stared at Izumi's eyes. She smiled with a nod. Telling her about Hisashi before the sudden changes in her life was at least a good idea, and seeing that it was mostly a compilation of good memories, she knew that she didn't need to hold back telling her most about it.

"Alright…" Inko said.

"What was his name?"

"Hisashi… Hisashi Midoriya."

…

Toshinori was peeking through the small opening on the door looking inside the room where Inko and Izumi shared. Initially, he was going to ask Inko if she was down for a coffee break downstairs to join him with. Just a small chat to make the mood a lot more easier for all of them. With the quickening pace of events, and the now stressed atmosphere both Inko and her daughter experienced, he thought that it was good way to vent off steam, himself included. He also didn't want Kaguya to bother calling her for him, instead he bid her to prepare them their beverages. He decided to invite her himself, with easy and slow steps, thinking that the mother and daughter was sharing a rather somber moment as they recuperated the initial tension between them earlier.

What he didn't expect however, was climbing up the stairs and hearing the cheerful and generally happy atmosphere coming off from the room he was looking into. He saw Inko and Izumi sharing a lighthearted conversation with each other, from what little details he could scrounge up he heard that they were talking about Inko's memories with her late lover, Hisashi Midoriya.

It was surprising seeing Inko in a very much happy state while talking about him, most of the time the meager mention of his name drove her over the edge in sadness. Even Nemuri herself never mentions him, knowing that the woman was easily flustered and emotionally vulnerable when he was brought into a conversation. Yet here she was now, happy and comfortable talking about him towards her daughter. A part of him thought that the day Hisashi was finally brought to Izumi's attention would result in a sadder mixture of emotions (based on how Izumi once asked him about her father, and the fact that Inko was still very much scared to mention him to her).

But here they were now… with Inko sharing stories of the time she was in High School. Izumi laughing at how funny some of the stories were, and how Hisashi was a pretty much a likeable guy.

He smiled at it. Seeing the mother and daughter interact with one another. It truly felt like one of those rare moments where the two before his eyes bore no problems nor the weight of the world on their shoulders. Back then he thought he was the only one with such a responsibility. Now, seeing how these two dramatically shifted the views he had in life, it made him realize that there was so much more out there in the world and even though problems rose from every corner, a light of positivity still shined.

"Do you enjoy peeping into another person's business, Mr. Yagi?" a voice suddenly whispered to him, and he turned to see Kaguya, her ears straight up, and her expression that of a smug manner. She was obviously teasing him.

"It's not in a bad way Ms. Kaguya. But seeing them like this is refreshing with how recent events are to both of them. I'm quite happy they got along pretty easy this time."

Kaguya made a semblance of a smile as she can perfectly hear what the two were talking about inside. Her ears were sensitive to sound, and she was happy as well knowing that the two made up. Earlier, she was really inclined to say something, but she knew better than to pry. She then saw that her boss was looking at the two with a distinct emotion that only stemmed from something close to _need_. A bit of jealousy as well that they were talking about something else, and while the man would surely jest her that it wasn't the case, she could see it through his expression alone.

"What about you Mr. Yagi? Are you happy that you're not there with them?"

"I think I'm okay where I am now. It's good seeing them like this." He simply said as he peered further. Kaguya suddenly had an idea, she knew fairly well that she couldn't overpower All Might by herself, but when he was in this form… that of Toshinori Yagi, she could easily move him without any effort at all. She pressed both her hands on his back…

"Wait, what are you doin-

And pushed him inside with one shove.

As soon as she did, the laughing inside died instantly. Toshinori was brought into the room abruptly that it surprised the mother and daughter duo. He awkwardly smiled at the both of them as he scratched back of his head.

"Peeping now are we? I thought you were a decent man Toshi." Inko teased as she smirked while crossing her arms at him. Izumi chuckled as Toshinori made an awkward laugh.

"I-I'll let myself out… sorry for barging in." he said as he started to walk to the door. Before he did however, Izumi promptly walked to his side and pulled his arm to join them. Toshinori looked at Inko who merely shrugged to Izumi's actions.

"What? I didn't tell her to do that." She stated as Toshinori chuckled in response. He was then placed in the middle of them as Izumi rested her body against him at his left side. The girl wordlessly smiled at him and conveyed an already obvious gesture of thanks towards him.

"Thanks kid." He said as he made a thumbs up. Izumi giggled in response.

"I can't believe I'm actually laying down next to All Might, in his house of all places." She whispered. Inko watched as the man patted her head in comfort.

"Well for what it's worth Young Midoriya, I'm quite happy sitting next to you as well."

Inko giggled at how extremely cheesy it was for her, and the two of them looked at her as to why.

"You really know how to ruin the mood huh?" Inko teased and they all laughed in response. For Toshinori, he felt the best kind of happiness he hadn't felt in years with them. To Inko, she felt that even though she lost so much in life, these two were the ones that brought her back from the brink. For Izumi…

She felt like even though she never had a whole and complete family, at this very moment she cherished what she had, and even though it wasn't much, to her this meant everything. A family in itself that was complete in her eyes.

Kaguya watched through the door, and quietly brandished her phone. Taking a picture of the three them happy together. Maybe she could keep it for something else someday. Or maybe to herself. Either way she was content.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY…**

"Will you be joining All Might today as well Ms. Kaguya?" Izumi asked, at that moment she was completely dressed in her school uniform and was carrying her bag at her back. Her mother and All Might had left earlier according to the bunny-eared butler so it was left to Kaguya to drive her to UA. While she expressed at first that she would have gone to UA alone by herself, the woman simply told her that it was an order from both her mother and Mr. Yagi. Izumi pouted of course, but she knew that there was no winning with her so she agreed to it eventually. The ride wasn't that long per say, and Kaguya did her a favor by not showing up at the front of UA's gates with a car. She didn't want to make a scene after all.

So here she was being escorted by Kaguya as they walked towards UA's gates. It turns out she too was needed by All Might inside the school premises, bringing the two of them together to walk side by side. The bunny-eared woman was quiet like usual, and the question to her was answered in a matter of a few words.

"Yes. Mr. Yagi needs my assistance."

"On what?" Izumi asked.

"School business. Do not ask me about it." Kaguya affirmed. Izumi simply shrugged as she tapped her headband, making sure that it was in place correctly. The moment they turned to the main pathway towards the school, it was only then did they realize that multiple news vans and reporters were clamoring people entering the school.

Izumi could see that some of her classmates were being interviewed as well. The likes of Uraraka and Tenya along with a handful of other students from different classes and years were present. Izumi was surprised that these people were here, and was wondering what the fuss was about.

Kaguya then placed a hand on her shoulder, Izumi looked up and saw that she had a serious expression on her face. As if something bad was happening.

"Stay close to me." She whispered and Izumi nodded as they continued to walk.

But even then with the presence of Kaguya herself, it seemed like the media circus immediately laid their eyes on her. One reporter from a news team came upon them with a series of questions. Both on her and Kaguya. Kaguya hadn't felt like this ever since

"Miss! What is it like having All Might as your teacher?"

"Is he really teaching at this school?"

"How is he at this line of work?"

"What other reason is All Might doing this?"

Kaguya took a deep breath and pushed them all aside with little effort. While it didn't stop them from following them both, at least it brought comfort and enough space for Izumi. Who was still uncomfortable with these type of things.

"We just want an interview from the students!" one reporter said as the others moved their camera closer towards them both. Kaguya covered it with her hand as she moved them away.

"Please allow the girl to get to school. You could be charged for harassment if you force her to talk." Kaguya warned, but most of them kept coming, it seemed like they weren't going to stop should Izumi say something.

The girl however was overwhelmed as she didn't like crowds clamoring over her. Her emotions were thrown in a slight spur as her headband glowed faintly in red. Kaguya managed to pry off one reporter that was closest to her when one woman from the crowd recognized Izumi.

"Hey! Isn't she the girl with All Might on that Slime Villain incident?"

An uproar was raised and the crowd swarmed them instantly. Kaguya was getting pissed off as Izumi was already getting overwhelmed. She pleaded for them to let them through and when the crowd's attitude worsened, Kaguya grabbed the nearest camera and crushed it into her hands. The entire crowd was silenced instantly as Kaguya threw the remains of the camera down to the street in front of her with a signature fix to her suit jacket.

"You'll have to fix that lady! We can call our lawyers down on you." The cameraman said.

Kaguya stood her ground with a glare.

"Sue me then. I dare you." Kaguya said as she brandished as much intimidation in her words. The group backed off as at the gates of UA himself was none other than Izumi's homeroom teacher. Aizawa looked down upon the crowd of reporters and activated his quirk. Threatening them in the process.

"All Might isn't in the premises of the school today. Please leave our students alone or we will call the authorities on you." Aizawa said as his quirk instantly went off the moment he finished speaking. Izumi and Kaguya hurriedly walked towards the gate as the other students followed suit. In the middle of it all, Izumi noticed a tall young adult at the very end of the road at the back, his features were covered by his gray hair. Izumi found it peculiar that he was watching wordlessly at what was happening. Although her attention was forced again upon the various reporters still yearning to get a scoop from her.

Yet again a multitude of questions were being asked towards Aizawa and Kaguya until the remote and automated gates closed down to its armored capacity. Leaving those outside with nothing to do but accept it. The students went to their classes as Izumi bowed in thanks towards her homeroom teacher.

"Thank you so much Mr. Aizawa." She said.

"Just get to class kid, we start early today." He said as he began to walk away, but before he did he turned towards Kaguya who was standing still behind Izumi.

"Tell your boss Nezu needs to speak to him. A PR issue from what I've heard." Kaguya nodded in response as he walked away. Izumi then looked at Kaguya who checked the time on her watch.

"See you later then…" she said with a small smirk.

"Likewise Izumi." The woman said as they parted ways. Izumi then ran towards Tenya and Uraraka who were waiting for her the moment they saw her. Regrouping with her friends, she happily lead them to the classroom as another day in UA started.

Izumi hoped inwardly that nothing bad would happen this time.

* * *

7:36 Hours, Room of Class 1-A…

"It's great seeing you better today Izumi, yesterday you got us really worried for you." Kyouka said as Izumi placed her bag on her seat. Their classmates weren't complete yet in attendance, but most of them had already arrived. Himiko seemed to arrive late today, as she hadn't shown up yet. Momo and the others had arrived early like usual, and Shoto as silent as he was remained in his seat. Tending to his own musings. Kyouka had arrived a bit earlier than Izumi, and along the way with the company of the constantly prudent Tenya with the sweet Uraraka, the redhead girl's day was starting off better than she anticipated.

"Thanks for your concern and worry guys, I'm okay now if that's what you're asking of me." Izumi replied. Momo and Uraraka were near her alongside Momo and Mina. Mina most of all jumped on Izumi's back the moment she saw her partner after yesterday's events. A soft giggle was shared between them as Izumi gave a cheerful greeting towards her.

"Your mom sounded angry yesterday, did something bad happen between you two?" Mina asked, as she was there when Inko showed up to pick her up. Momo was curious to this as well.

"No it wasn't anything serious. My mom just got worried that yesterday was the second time I got into Recovery Girl's office. Not that I wanted to that is." Izumi explained. While far from being a lie, she didn't tell the entirety of it either. That conversation of Izumi's small lapses of erratic behavior yesterday was reserved only for her and her mother.

"Your mom's really pretty Izumi… I think you got her looks pretty well." Mina complimented.

"What did her mom look like?" Kyouka asked.

"Well, she looked like a well-endowed woman. Beautiful and simple looking that is. Though her face left an image of strong-willed woman. I respected her the moment her air came into the room." Momo described.

"Which reminds me Izumi, why is it that your mother's hair is green and yours is red?" the spiky-haired girl continued as Izumi tried to respond to the question. She didn't know the full answer of it, but last night her mother did tell her that Hisashi Midoriya, her father sported red hair. So she assumed that it came from him. Unbeknownst to her, this was an obvious lie from Inko, so that she wouldn't think that she was any different from her.

"My dad's hair was red according to my mom. Back in the day I used to this dye this hair in green, because my mom wanted to but it became completely unnecessary the moment my quirk came into existence. The moment I activate it the dye instantly gets burned off and it returns to red." Izumi explained.

"Why would your mom want you to dye your hair? It's good the way it is." Kyouka asked.

"I don't remember exactly, but I guess she wanted us to be the same hair color. Don't get me wrong, it's not that mom forced me too. In fact, I think she likes it when I try to imitate her in some of the things she does." Izumi said with a small smirk, recalling last night's events with her mother.

"_Mama's Girl_" Kyouka whispered under her breath.

"What is your mom's profession Izumi? She sounds quite cool from Momo and Mina's description." Uraraka asked.

"She's a legal consultant. A lawyer in simple terms. She used to go abroad multiple times back in the past to handle certain cases that she was called on to. Nowadays, she seems more eager to stay near our home to spend time with me." Izumi said, recalling the days where only she and Nemuri were in the house.

"Who was that other woman by the way, the one with your mom?" Mina asked.

"Oh her… uh…" Izumi thought that she couldn't say that she was All Might's assistant. Doing so would ruin the secret of 'One for All' and it would certainly make a fuss to others knowing that she was staying in All Might's home. If the reporters outside were any indication, it would surely end that way.

"…She's my mom's assistant. She follows her around with whatever my mom wants her to do."

"She acted more like a butler than I cared to admit." Momo expressed and continued to talk about it to her, knowing that she herself had a family butler. Mina and Kyouka along with Uraraka weren't able to relate with the sudden shift of the topic. Being more so in the middle-class of all things made them feel awkward towards Momo who kept on talking about Butlers and servants.

"So Izumi's a rich snob then?" Kyouka said with a frown. The redhead immediately tried to refute the claim as she explained that Ms. Kaguya was just working for her mother and nothing else

"But she was with you earlier at the gates…" Uraraka added.

"It was only for today. For real! I walk to school on a daily basis. I'm not even rich for crying out loud." Izumi said in defense. Mina and a few others shared a small giggle as they continued to tease her.

Himiko arrived a few moments later, and joined with their other friends it seemed like all was coming to terms for a good day for Izumi.

"DEKU!"

Until Katsuki showed up. The blonde walked to his position as Izumi's friends around her looked at his direction. Shoto managed to steal a glance as well, recalling yesterday's talk with him. Tenya rushed forward to him, annoyed that he was being disrespectful again.

"Step aside four eyes! I need to talk to her." he firmly said and Izumi wondered what the fuss was all about with the explosive blonde 'friend' she had. He clearly was upset about something as he neared her. Kyouka on the other hand, sneered at him.

"What's your problem?" she said with a bit of anger in her voice.

"This isn't about you tomboy!"

"What did you call me?" Kyouka suddenly said with a higher tone.

"Ooh… a fight." Himiko said as she stared at Katsuki and Kyouka who were now in a standoff. Luckily, the tension was diffused when Izumi stood in front of her.

"It's alright guys… I can talk to him." Izumi assured as Kyouka sighed, although her eyes were still transfixed with anger towards him. Izumi then faced him with a concerned face.

"Do you mind not doing that to my friends?"

"I need to talk to you."

"For what reason?" Izumi challenged.

"JUST- AAGH! Come with me!" he said as he grabbed her arm forcefully and while Momo and Kyouka were surprised at the sudden act, Izumi assured them with a gesture that it was alright. They were about to leave the classroom, until Aizawa came in through the automatic sliding doors of the room.

"Get to your seats… and no, we have something important to discuss so none of you will be excused." Aizawa simply stated as Katsuki fumed only for Aizawa to glare at him further. He let it go just as he let go of Izumi's arm. He then gave a glare at her direction, making Izumi doubly curious as to what exactly he was bothered with about her. Everyone got back to their seats and the whole class with its full attendance were eager to know what their homeroom teacher's plans were for the day.

At first, he talked about their individual performances on yesterday's battle trials. He commended most of the class for their well-placed strategies and synergies when they were paired into teams. He also commended that one team who volunteered for another simulation since the class' total number was 22 students. Leading one pair without another to pit against. The two of them being Tenya and the foreign exchange student Sylvia who were grateful to be picked against another team.

Their synergy was well-coordinated and they were able to be effective in both simulations.

The pair were thankful as most of their classmates gave a cheerful remark at them. Mostly on Sylvia's side since Tenya once again gave another one of his honorary remarks and speeches with thanks.

Aizawa also commended most of his class for having the bare-minimum knowledge of handling their quirks to the optimal level possible. Mastery was a key component for being a pro hero and it took good effort and years of experience to hone one's quirk to its full potential.

Which is why he gazed his eyes on Izumi.

"Midoriya, while I can congratulate you for a good effort on part of the plan you orchestrated to beat an otherwise strong opponent, the way how your quirk misplayed at the end was still a major mistake that would cost the life of someone in the field. Your quirk has enormous potential, and while you do in fact use it optimally for most of the time, there is still room to be improved."

"Y-yes sir."

"Make sure you make of that promise next time. That goes to all of you as well." Aizawa stated as he moved the topic along to the next matter. Izumi was pleased to know that most of her classmates were rather moved by her performance, but she made sure of it not to go up into her head since she did do lots of visible mistakes that resulted in what could have been a cleaner operation.

"If there are no more further questions involving the Battle Trials yesterday then we can move on to the next matter of business. One of which will decide your future."

The entire class went serious in both slight fear and silence. Hoping that it wasn't another sudden test or exam from their homeroom teacher. Who may or may not try to use the 'expelled' tactic again.

"Today you will be choosing a class representative."

A collective sigh came from the class, Izumi included. Although hearing what he said greatly made them all excited. For being a class representative in the Hero Course provided more meaning than what the position's normal use is. While it was technically the same still from the tried and tested method, it also provided whoever was chosen exposure towards Hero Agencies as being a class rep to a class like this meant you were good at actively leading and guiding a team of heroes.

With that reason in place, almost the entirety of the class raised their hands up and stated why they were the best candidates to be the class representatives. Even Kyouka and Mina managed to put their cases up with various different reasons. Not everyone made their case though, as people like Tokoyami, Sylvia, Momo, and Shoto himself were more or less okay with who was going to be picked.

Izumi was included in that particular group as she merely sat in her chair and smiled at her classmates. Katsuki stood up as well angrily trying to say that he was the best, and to be honest it made Izumi chuckle seeing him try so hard. She then looked at her right and saw Himiko doing the same too. The blonde girl was clearly not enticed at the idea of being a leader and Izumi knew it best.

The blonde girl then gestured Izumi to look at her phone, likely that she sent a message there. Opening her phone, she saw that Himiko was pushing her to take the position herself. Izumi smiled back at her as Himiko tried to gesture her to stand up.

But Izumi didn't budge. It's not that she didn't want the position, but she wasn't sure of herself that she was the best person fit for the role. Aizawa didn't care as he stood there. Waiting for the kids to pick out someone as they continued to endorse themselves to the class.

"Silence, Everyone Please!" Tenya suddenly said in an outburst. Most of the class drew their eyes on Tenya who had a serious expression on his face.

"The class representative's duty is to lead others, that's not something anyone could do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill this decision is democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader." Tenya said as he raised his hand up. Unfortunately, that also meant that he wanted them to vote for him as well. This made him seem like a fool to everybody else, but Izumi merely gave a thumbs up in support. She did think that the guy was a good candidate. So was Momo as well.

"Is this really a good idea?" Kaminari said.

"We've only known each other for a few days. How do we know who to trust?" Asui said.

"I trust Izu! For a long time now." Himiko said in the middle of it.

"But that's because you and her went to the same school. No offense Izumi." Kyouka replied.

"None taken." Izumi responded.

"How is this going to work though? Most of us will probably vote for themselves." Kirishima reasoned out, a fact that most of them agreed will happen.

"That's where voting comes in as the best solution. Think about it, the person with the most votes certainly is the best person for the job." Tenya explained and he turned to Aizawa who was more or less crawling into his sleeping bag. "It's the best way don't you agree sir?"

"Just pick out your representative before my nap is over. I don't care what method you use, just get it done." He stated as he moved in to take his short nap. Himiko couldn't take it off her mind that their homeroom teacher looked like an overgrown caterpillar with a face as he used that sleeping bag. Tenya said his thanks as Izumi's classmates began their mini-election.

Izumi already had a candidate in mind on who she was going to vote for so she wrote it down the moment their votes were cast.

The results after that however was not something she expected at all…

* * *

9:36 Hours, Toshinori Yagi's Office, UA Campus Grounds…

"I want you to take up all the names and registered quirks inside this box. If the file doesn't say anything, mark them with an unknown stamp." Inko said as she gave another set of boxes filled with files towards Kaguya's position. They had been busy for a considerable amount of time ever since they arrived at UA and both Inko and Toshinori had been scrounging up information about the Aldera Tragedy.

The reason being was, they wanted to know more about the quirks Izumi possibly had inside her own. It was a daunting task and the very moment the two left, they came upon a few of Toshinori's contacts to get the needed files before heading to UA. The data was crucial if they were to understand Izumi's quirk and with the added threat of hers going haywire at any given moment (to which they both hoped wouldn't happen) they needed in-hand knowledge of what to expect from the girl.

Now that Kaguya had arrived, the work would be easier. They barely got through half of it yet and even then these were the only files officially given to them by the city government. Even then, this didn't include the numerous villains, poverty-stricken individuals, and children who haven't manifested their quirks yet. So they had so many factors that would derail their full understanding of the quirks on all of those who died in the tragedy. Yet, knowing most of it was better than knowing nothing at all, so they took the chance regardless of the external detractors.

Toshinori had been ushering some calls to update some of the names not on this list and Inko was listing the files she already came across through her laptop that she brought along. She tied her hair into a pony tail at this moment and she dressed up fairly casual than usual. Sporting only a black shirt and jeans along with flats. Toshinori of course, who was dressed for work had a blue and white striped suit this time, and while Inko laughed at him for once again showing no effort in style, he managed it well both in his normal frame and sized-up form. Even with how loose it looked when he was in a normal sense.

Kaguya had used a pen and notebook to look through her own pile as they worked. Nemuri had stopped by an hour ago to check on them and was willing to help once she was free after her initial classes.

As this all went along, Inko continued to wonder if all of these quirks would indeed manifest in Izumi, but since 'One for All' was already something they saw, then it wasn't an impossibility for these quirks to manifest as well.

She tried recalling the quirks of the villains she encountered in the pier years back. She recalled a handful but couldn't exactly remember what others were. Yet the thought scared her still, some of those men and women had active, dangerous quirks and she feared that Izumi may accidentally use them.

"Do we need to include the quirks of those who were hit by her energy?" Toshinori asked.

"Yes… so that would put me, Nemuri, Kaguya, and some others on the list."

"You're joking right? She has your quirk too?" Toshinori said. He already knew how volatile and powerful the woman before him was. Even back in his prime, the danger and threat Inko posed was immense with how strong her telekinesis was.

"She has unfortunately, when she was a baby me and Nemuri would always get hit by her from time to time. It was only with Dr. Shigechi's help that we managed to give her doses of those suppressants. So yes, she does have my quirk." Inko replied.

"I'll be damned then." he commented.

"You scared? I thought back then you could always overpower me… now I'm hearing this?" Inko teased as she smirked while continuing her work.

"To be fair with you, you were pretty good with how you use your quirk back in the day. I had problems dealing with your crap on most instances." Toshinori teased back as Inko sweetly smiled even though she never made a glance at him. He returned to his own tasks afterwards.

Inko sighed after a few short minutes as she continued to type her findings into a comprehensive list. Kaguya, who was fast as always managed to finish the first box of files in a well-mannered written list in her notebook. It took her about twenty minutes or so in the process and as she gave it to Inko to add to their compiled archive, Kaguya noticed that while most of the quirks listed here were typical and common (likely from ordinary citizens and the like), but some of them were problematic in nature. Some that held a bit too much concern upon all of them. For a woman like her who was not vulnerable to surprises that much, she was definitely disturbed by some of the listings they compiled.

Inko shared the same expression as she encoded every type of quirk that was known from the Aldera Tragedy, along with the various minors that didn't even have their quirks registered or manifested yet in a certain capacity. Some descriptions of those said minors remained, but speculating was a problem, as a mere child with reptile skin did not simple mean that he or she's power was based on something reptilian in nature. Some bodies like said earlier from the Tragedy were unrecognizable too, while DNA testing proved most of who they were, some were mysteriously vague in terms of their identity. Toshinori and Inko shared a theory that some quirks do exist that allowed them to change the composition of their DNA into something else.

With all of those detractors in place, Inko shared a collective sigh as she looked over the list.

The quirk type with the highest number ahead of everything were of course the aforementioned Gigantification-type quirks. It was the most common quirk after all from the frequency of these abilities going into this age of time. The rest were a variable mix of Emitters, Transformation, and Mutant quirks that came at an alarming case in some of them. She did recognize a few quirks from that night that were on this list. While it didn't prove as a problem at first for her, the combination of said abilities made her worry deeply.

_Living Arsenal_

_Kinetic Blast_

_Aegis_

_Terra_

_Nitro_

_Adrenaline Rush_

_Adaptation_

_Specter_

_Hemorrhage_

And the list went on… while these served as a minor nuisance individually speaking to both her and Toshinori, it still didn't bode well that all of these en masse quirks (numbering at about six thousand or more), all directly live inside her now. Should she lose control of her quirk, then…

Inko shook her head. She mustn't think of that she said to herself. She sighed and continued her current task as Kaguya watched her closely. She was called upon by Toshinori to help him on trying to contact another known official to verify some of the identified villains in the list they gathered from the deaths fourteen years ago. While he was serious in a sense with the work he was doing, his thoughts were completely adrift on Inko, whom he was watching with worry and concern for how the woman was doing at the current moment. Kaguya noticed this almost instantly as she elbowed her boss promptly.

"What?" he said with a low voice.

"Don't you think it is time sir?" Kaguya said with an implication.

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to say something about her, that is."

Toshinori quivered his brow as he looked at Inko once more.

"You care about her, don't you sir?"

"Of course I would, I mean I always care about the well-being of people that nee-" Kaguya slapped him in the head with one of the files she carried in an abrupt sense. Inko looked at their direction in reaction as she heard the slap.

"Everything alright?" the green-haired woman asked. Kaguya gave a lax smile right back at her.

"Yeah… everything's alright." Toshinori replied as Inko gave a small awkward smile at him before continuing to her own matter. He then looked at Kaguya in question to the sudden move. The woman never flinched as he finally understood what she meant.

"Alright. I do. What do you want me to do about it?" he asked.

"I don't want to step in and make the choice for you sir, but you do need to do something about those feelings of yours. You haven't been in focus as of late, and while I don't think it's a bad thing to worry about those two, you need to act upon those feelings soon before it's too late." Kaguya said as she Inko gestured her to help her with something. Toshinori acknowledged what the woman was trying to say as Kaguya left his side.

He did it admit it now that he felt something towards her. But what of it then?

With a mental sigh, he tapped his fingers lightly on the desk and looked at Inko.

At that moment he was about to say something to her until the next moment occurred in a sudden twist of fate.

The School's Perimeter Alarm turned on.

* * *

**A FEW MINUTES EARLIER…**

"Izumi! Get your focus together." Momo said as the now proclaimed Vice-Representative of Class 1-A and with her was Izumi who was still having a hard time wrapping the fact that most of the class (well if you can call four votes as most) voted her as the Class Representative. Now, here she was talking with Momo as they agreed to proactively make initial plans for their classroom moving forward while eating lunch together. They were at lunch sharing a table for themselves and they were a bit too detached from the rest as they were focusing primarily on the task that she suggested to Momo that they do during lunch. Their classmates were in their usual tables alongside their circle of friends and some of them were even watching the two representatives talk from where they were.

The shock was blatant on Izumi the moment the results were tallied, as she herself voted for Momo to be representative, but finding out that most of her class chose her was a surprise. Most of those who voted for themselves were happy to know that she was the representative, albeit a certain Blonde boy frowned at her in a monstrous way (typical of him she thought). She found later who voted for her but she didn't ask as to why. It seemed like most of the class trusted her anyways and now she was put into this position on which asked her on a lot in terms of responsibility.

Mina was ecstatic to know that she was the representative, happily saying that she could do it. While she was shy to admit that she didn't expect this nor that she wanted it at all, she did respect their opinions on her and instead of backing out she had to make sure the faith and trust placed on her was warranted. Much like how those who trained her to be in this school was months ago.

She yet again vowed to uphold that promise, but she damn well knew that the job was not going to be easy. Especially since she wasn't an expert at this stuff. Thankfully, Momo was the vice representative so supposedly that would mean she would have an easier time dealing with this problem than it was if she was alone.

"Where were we again?" Izumi asked.

"We were talking about how to best lead the class when the teachers assign activities to us. Mostly on group training inside simulations. Think of it like the battle trials in a broader and bigger sense. With more people involved that is. I do think it's likely for the teachers to make a situation such as that soon, since this is UA." Momo said.

"Yeah. I do think it's a possibility." _Especially when All Might himself trained here. I heard a lot of stuff about him back in the day and if such things are different now then it would only mean a higher difficulty for the class. _

Izumi thought about the list of names of each person in her classroom. She already placed relative info about her classmates in one of her hero journals and it proved to be of great help here as she showed it to Momo. At first, she was surprised to know that Izumi was closely snooping in towards her class, but thankfully she found it thrilling at how detailed and well-made the journal was. Both of them used her journal to heavily talk about their class for the past thirty minutes while eating and it helped immensely for how to best make of their situation.

"We can list synergies first and then talk about it to our classmates later. It'll help for everyone to know each other better, and it'll probably work as a team-building experience once we're all done at the end of the day." Izumi suggested, and Momo wrote it down as her hero journal was now turned into a planner that she and Momo shared from now on.

After writing it down, the talks mellowed as Izumi ate the last of her lunch. Momo finished her sandwich as they relaxed for a bit, seeing their classmates talk so casually with each other from where they were.

"Nervous?" Momo asked. Izumi looked at her and thought about it.

"Yeah. You can definitely say that."

Momo smiled as she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine. Trust me. We got a lot of support anyways, so I think it'll work out for us at the end of the day." Izumi smiled the moment she heard this from Momo and after that they saw Tenya barking at Himiko for playing with her food. They both saw Uraraka and Kyouka along with a few others laughing as their classmate tried to stop her. Mina was tagging along the fun as well with Toru behind her.

"I hope he's not sad that he didn't win." Izumi said in regards to Tenya.

"I don't think he thinks that way at all… I saw him quite relieved that at the very least it was you."

"Sure." Izumi said as they saw Tenya shouting and was pointing at the other table where Mineta and the other boys were talking about something. It made both of them laugh seeing how the guy tried his best at correcting their classmates. Seeing it gave the redhead an idea.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Izumi asked.

"What do you mean?"

Before Momo could answer that question, the entire lunch hall was filled with the sound of an alarm. An alarm that rattled the entire population of the school. Izumi stood up as her headband glowed in faint red. Something was wrong.

"**WARNING, LEVEL THREE SECURITY BREACH. PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!" **the intercom said, and as quickly as it happened, the students within the building started to slowly panic. Momo and Izumi ran to the rest of their classmates to join them as Tenya came their attention.

"What's going on?" Izumi said.

"The third year student I talked to said that a level three breach means someone managed to break through the school's barrier." He replied and saw that most of their classmates along with the rest of the population of the lunch area was panicking. Izumi quickly organized her thoughts as Momo tried to keep everybody calm in their class. The entire floor rumbled in noise at the combination of their fellow student's wails, fear, and disorganization. It was a stressful task, and Izumi knew that as Class rep she had the responsibility to guide her class out of this.

The redhead girl looked around and quickly assessed the situation. She saw in the chaos was her friend from Class 1-B, Itsuka trying her best to reign her classmates by enlarging her hands to a sizable degree to distract them with something big to notice her.

Izumi then looked at Tenya and an idea sparked inside of her.

"Momo, Kyouka, I need you two to round up our classmates. Make sure all of them are accounted for." She commanded as the two nodded in response. Izumi then turned to Tenya as she grabbed his arm.

"Tenya, can I count on you to do something for me?"

Tenya's eyes widened as the halls were now full of students in disarray, Izumi wondered where the teachers were at this hour but if her plan managed to pull off this little panic-induced ruckus would stop. Izumi then whispered to him the plan as the way to the exit was filled to the brim of panicking people their age. Momo and the others struggled as they told their classmates to hold everyone at arm's length so they won't separate. Izumi and Tenya who were detached from them was in the middle of the crowd, the shoving and pushing intensifying by the second.

Tenya could see that Izumi's plan would work and because he was given the trust of his Class Representative to do so, he wouldn't fail at any cost. They were about to reach enough distance from the exit when someone accidentally shoved both of them, rendering his glasses to fall off from his face. Izumi's headband was nearly taken off from the ensuing chaos, and it made her worry that something bad may happen. Her eyes were already glowing in a faint red with the amount of chaos present but she steeled herself as she clicked the headband back in place. She grabbed Tenya's arm tighter as he got her attention.

"Ready?"

"Ready." He affirmed and instantly Izumi's Black Whip wrapped itself around his arm. It then moved across his torso and subsequent limbs as she gave him the signal to jump. Tenya activated the booster engines in his leg in an upwards fashion as Izumi readied herself. She then threw another line towards the direction Momo was and it snaked through the middle of the chaos inside the crowd. Luckily with a tight snag from that end, she positioned herself to make herself stable. The few students near them was whisked away a bit as Tenya flew upwards as he released the burst from his legs. Izumi's line holding him stopped him mid-flight and in a quick span of seconds, Tenya positioned himself forward towards the top of the exit door, with Izumi's Black Whip keeping him steady in the air as she let it extend. The sudden burst of speed would carry him forward to reach the end without falling down.

**BWOOSH!**

The redhead's headband glowed in bright red as everybody saw the spectacle unfold atop of them. Tenya was nearing the end of his journey where Izumi timed herself to yank and stop Black Whip from extending further, abruptly stopping the momentum just in time to receive a whip-lash effect from Tenya who turned his boosters off. Luckily, before he fell towards the crowd, he managed to grab hold on a metal pipe that came from the ceiling. With a heave of his breath made into a sigh, he felt relief as he made it just in time. Everybody stopped moving from where they stood and looked at Tenya who was grabbing on to dear life atop the exit. Izumi's Black Whip receded from him as her eyes and temperance returned to normal. She gave a thumbs up to Tenya to do his thing and the boy smiled as he kept his face in a firm manner to address the entire room.

_This is it, be concise, clear and confident! Everybody's counting on you! She's counting on you! _Tenya thought as he held on to that metal pipe and spoke with his large voice.

"LISTEN UP! EVERYTHING IS OKAY! IT'S JUST THE MEDIA OUTSIDE. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. EVERYTHING IS FINE!" he took a breath and continued "WE'RE UA STUDENTS! WE HAVE TO REMAIN CALM AND PROVE THAT WE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST!"

This completely rattled and silenced the entire block of students filing into the exit. It kept everyone in a sudden urgency to stay calm and focused. The chaos dissipated instantly as Tenya grabbed on to see his work in success. He smiled widely when Izumi waved at him.

Thanking the girl for giving him the chance with this act. Even the ones who were not really agreeable with his actions in class felt relief and a sense of calmness after his well-laid outburst and it made everyone to share him a quick thanks.

Although, he was still hanging on to dear life and looked like an idiot atop there…

Yet Izumi smiled at his behest.

* * *

"You did well back there. Nice job." Izumi said as the entirety of Class 1-A walked together back to their classroom. Tenya smiled back as Izumi walked by his side.

"If it wasn't of your guidance I may not have done what I needed to do there. Thank you." He replied. He then offered her his hand in a respectful handshake. "You put your trust in me Midoriya, so I would do the same. I wouldn't have thought to gather our classmates in that very moment. That quick thinking of yours managed to defuse the chaotic situation in some way." He continued.

Izumi smirked as they shook hands.

"Glad to know you're our Class Representative." He admitted.

Izumi then tapped his shoulder.

"Uh, about that. I may need to talk to Mr. Aizawa to ask a favor from him."

"A favor? Of what kind?"

"One that could give you a job other than being a representative in class. Should it work, Can I trust you to help me and Momo with our class?" Izumi offered and with a surprised expression, the boy smirked in agreement.

"I guess that's a yes then." she said as they both giggled. Momo then joined them soon after, albeit with a puzzled look. She took Izumi's attention and looked back at their classmates who were talking to each other.

"What is it?"

"We're missing a few members." Momo said. "Nobody's seen Bakugou, Sero, and Himiko after what happened back there." Izumi wasn't surprised to hear that Katsuki never came with them and she was sure that Sero would come to class soon, probably got detached from the group during the chaos. But Himiko… that was weird, the redhead knew that she clung to her friends really well even when something bad happens. Izumi wondered where her ashen-blonde friend was at this time.

And why did she suddenly disappear when they just saw her at lunchtime with the others?

Himiko opened her eyes as she stepped through the black void. The moment she did, she was greeted to a forest clearing that had UA about half a mile from where she was standing from. The blackened mist behind her that she stepped through shrunk into a humanoid form and beside him was a man twice or about her age wearing dark clothes and his face covered by his gray hair. His skin was pale and he hunched over looking at her with how tall he was compared to her

She smiled at him with that famous grin of hers, she then took something from her pocket. A small pink USB device was shown and she offered it towards the two.

It took a moment before both persons reacted to her offer.

"What? You don't like pink?" she asked.

The black mist-looking man stepped forward and took the USB from her fingers.

"This is all of it I presume? Everything regarding UA's defense system along with all its ins and outs?" he said. Himiko nodded at both of them, noticing the pale skin guy looking her over intensely.

"I also copied the main system's firewall network as a data schematic in there. Should you use that USB, you have an advantage to get into UA without their sensors detecting the presence of your quirks." She explained.

"Good. You've done well." the man replied. Himiko lost her smile seeing that both men seemed to want more from her.

"Can we end this already? My classmates may find out that I'm gone from the school, that distraction letting the media inside the campus isn't going to last long you know."

"We acknowledge that, and clever timing on your part." The pale man this time said.

"Then why aren't you two putting me back yet?"

The pale man moved beside her as Himiko stared at him.

"Can you tell us more about the mother of that Midoriya Girl?"

"What for?"

"Oh… you'll see the reason soon enough." The pale man said with a foreboding tone. He grinned as he thought about the plan his master put in place. The pieces were set for their grand entrance…

And Tomura Shigaraki couldn't wait for his turn in the spotlight.

**END OF CHAPTER 14**

* * *

**AN: We're nearing it boys and gals... and yes, there will be large changes for the USJ arc. I can't say what they are now. But I hope you tune in to see it. I won't be posting a SideStory for this until Part 2 arrives as I think that little plot point is more relevant to both parts of this rather than in individuality. **

**Leave a review if possible and I do hope you liked it as there is more to come.**

**NEXT CHAPTER - The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 2: Izumi and her classmates are caught into a crossfire as someone makes their move against her. In danger and in peril, she and the rest of her class are left to fight for their lives as they find out what the enemy wants. **

**Oh, by the way. I'm also currently working on an Overlord Crossover fanfic. If you're interested in Overlord, I recommend you to try and read it. It's titled "Winter's Requiem" and I'm happy to say that the general response was favorable.**

**Well that's all from me! See you again in the next update. Bye! :)**


	28. XV The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 2

**Real life is a pain... but I managed to finish this. Enjoy :)**

* * *

XV. The Foreboding Ultimatum Part 2

"What floor was she in?" Inko exclaimed in panic as she was hurrying her pace to find Izumi as quickly as possible. Behind her for just a bit with Kaguya tailing them was Toshinori who transformed into his Buffed form to keep suspicion away from them as they traversed the halls of UA. Most of the teachers had to handle the media outside who supposedly caused the ruckus in the first place. A short emergency meeting was held for those who weren't outside taking hold of the situation as the possibility of this being something was else was an issue they did not want to happen. Nezu took hold of the meeting with Nemuri and Aizawa being the key important figures along with a handful of staff to discuss about it, especially Power Loader himself who took charge of UA's defense system.

Inko on the other hand immediately tried to find Izumi as quickly as she can and because she wasn't part of the staff at UA, Toshinori and Kaguya had to accompany her in the process. The woman was very worried, as evidenced by the fact that she was basically speed-walking and that she never cared for any person that stood in her way at that point. Luckily, most of the students had returned to their classes at this hour as the situation is being fixed.

"Inko slow down! I'm sure Izumi's alright."

"Don't give me that bullshit! The last time you said that it never turned out alright!" she exclaimed as she continued along. Toshinori sighed as he looked at Kaguya who merely shrugged at his direction.

"You're not going to help me?" he asked.

"You really want me to stand in the way of a woman who can lift buildings with her head sir?" she said with a questioning look.

"What about me? You always stop me when I'm that emotional over something."

"The difference sir is, that you are my boss officially and she on the other hand isn't. Though I do seem to like Ms. Inko more." She said in a reply that made the man raise his eyebrow.

"All Might! I asked you where her goddamn room is." Inko said as she grabbed his arm with a bit of tightness and annoyance coupled into it. He had to admit, with the small amount of times when Inko gets emotional at something, she does so with extreme effect. If the girl was terrified at her mother because of her temper back in the day, he now knew why.

"It's in this floor. J-Just calm down!" he said, not wanting to back down either.

She stopped and took a deep breath to satiate her alarmed senses. The sudden alert a few minutes ago drove her into so much worry thinking that this could be related to her daughter.

"Fine. Just show me where her room is. Please."

"And what will you do after? We can't just barge in there with no reason and parents aren't exactly allowed to be in school premises during class."

"You're a teacher in this school right? You can come up with an excuse." Inko said as she placed a hand on her hip at him.

"I can but you can't just go in there and do what you want!" he said in a sudden outburst. Inko went silent as they stared eye to eye. Herself surprised that he screamed at her like that.

Kaguya watched them closely. A small grin started to appear on the edge of her lips.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that. Just… just let me go in first okay? I know you're worried for her. I am too… but you have to focus right now. Being emotional won't help you." He said.

Inko gave what looked like a pout against him but waved it off afterwards.

"Alright then. I hear you. You don't need to scream at me." She finally said as she moved to the side to let him lead her to Izumi's classroom. He nodded at her as they continued walking, but at the corner of Toshinori's eye he could see that the woman was fuming to herself.

A bit of guilt was in his eyes as he pressed on, a detail that Kaguya never missed as she smirked at the two. Thinking that the both of them acted as if they were a domestic couple. She thought about telling Izumi about this later.

A few seconds later, the large and buff man scratched the back of his head as he turned his attention towards Inko who had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to-"

"Shut it. That was warranted because I acted like a bitch to you. You don't need to say sorry to me." She sighed as she doubled up to walk beside him. "I should be the one to apologize."

Toshinori had a ghost of a smirk on his face as Inko while never really changing her expression, seemed to let the childish debate out of their systems.

They were adults after all… and they had to act like it.

They turned around the corner towards Toshinori recalled as the corridor towards the room of Class 1-A. As they did so however, a peculiar sight welcomed them almost in a sudden fashion.

The two adults stopped in their tracks when they saw that outside of the classroom, Izumi was leaning on the wall with a surprised and blushing expression towards Katsuki who placed a forceful arm beside her head. He seemed to be pissed off at her, and although this was an awkward sight for all parties involved, Inko narrowed her eyes at the teens who hadn't noticed them… yet.

"IZUMI! What on Earth is happening?" she shouted as the two teens looked at their direction.

"M-Mom! H-Hey! I can explain. T-This isn't what you think it is!" the redhead girl explained as she continued to blush in deep red. All Might at that moment covered his face with the palm of his hand as Inko quickly came at direction of the two teens.

Kaguya watched it all unfold as she shared a single laugh to herself.

At the very least the previously worrisome situation had turned into something less of that.

Although, this didn't mean that they were out of the safe zone yet. As the mystery of the sudden alarm triggering a level three breach was still in the cards. As to the reason why, they had yet to know. One thing was for certain, they all knew that it wasn't a random occurrence. Not at all…

* * *

10:16 Hours, Principal's Office UA Campus School Grounds…

"Can we confirm that the alarm was indeed triggered by the media outside Mr. Majima?" Nezu said as they looked over the footage from before the alarm triggered within the school. Inside there was Nemuri, Aizawa, Ectoplasm, and Vlad King waiting for the Excavation Hero's response. The mood was a bit thin on anything positive as the alarms in school was not easily tripped nor were their defenses easily breached at all. It would take a team or something large to do such a thing, or sometimes someone with a strong quirk. Which was a possibility now that they had to consider, since the Midoriya girl was involved.

"No… that's highly unlikely sir. The systems I installed for UA don't and will never trigger at that small of a circumstance. I don't think this is a bug in the system, because if it was I would have been notified by it." he explained as he began to do a full on search for any errors in UA's network with a full on diagnosis. Nemuri started to think of this as something else.

"How the hell did the media get inside of our perimeter? The gates were tightly sealed to ward off any intruder. I'm surprised these vultures got through at all, even with a decently-powered quirk they wouldn't be able to break through that gate." Vlad King surmised.

"It would have been possible with a different kind of quirk, but as for how it goes right now we haven't seen any indication yet that the outside defenses were tampered with." Aizawa replied.

"Even if it was technology-based ability, the firewall defenses I installed wouldn't let that kind to easily breach the main system, however if it's an EMP based quirk the networks would instantly freeze and would reroute into the auxiliary power source. It'll automatically lock down all defenses preventing anyone from accessing the main grid, except for me…" he said as he took out a specialized key from his pocket and showed it to everyone. "if such an event occurs, I'm the only one who can return everything back to normal."

"So even with the defenses ironclad as you stated, this little event does concern me. We have not factored in all contingencies should a drastic event happen in the future and with the special child who is in our care at the moment, I think we need to recheck everything starting from now. The risk is too great for us not to do anything." Nezu said.

They all agreed as discussions continued.

Within the middle of it, Nemuri wanted to raise a point.

"What if it wasn't a breach?"

Aizawa blinked as he turned and then everyone diverted their attention on her.

"What would it be then?" he asked.

"Think about it, if this was a breach, supposedly a villain who tried to enter UA then why would he or she attempt to involve the press in this?"

"To add collateral damage? Or alternatively, maybe they want to send a message." Ectoplasm suggested.

"Those are very apt theories, but I don't think that's the main point here. Look, there is no indication of damage or anything. We don't even know what exactly happened. The only thing that was certain is that the media got in through unknown means. I don't think this is an attack at all. I think this is a precursor to an attack that's about to happen."

"If it's what you say, then what was the point of this small distraction?" Vlad King asked.

Nemuri pressed further.

"I think this was a test. They're testing the defenses of this school. If an alarm triggered precisely the moment the media came in, then there is a large possibility that someone inside that group or someone inside the campus deliberately made an effort to see how far our response goes."

"Are you implying that someone inside the school is a traitor?" Aizawa asked.

Nemuri blinked. The accusation was large, and unsupported.

"No. But I do think that whoever did this is trying to see what the school does when a threat does arise. I could be wrong, but I think what I'm saying makes sense." Nemuri said in her defense.

Aizawa and Nemuri looked at each other. While the woman wasn't that active in detective work with her hero license, she was still knowledgeable enough of what the current breed of criminals were. Power Loader then continued to run his diagnostics as Nezu deliberated with the others about this. The moment the scan was finished, he noticed an odd occurrence in the logs.

As well as a small fluke in the CCTV cameras.

"That's odd." He said.

"What's odd?" Aizawa asked. The Excavation Hero turned the monitor of his laptop and showed them. Both the results of the diagnostic and the CCTV feeds during the alarm trigger. What was presented posed a surprise and a shiver of worry from all of them. Even Aizawa managed to frown from the findings.

"A person managed to break a small opening into my firewall. I can't pinpoint exactly where the breaking commenced, but it seemed like it was timed perfectly with the alarm. As you all know, when the alarm triggers a direct feed to where that portion of the breach is documented to let us see how it occurred. Yet, the camera feeds on that very moment are in static. It continued for about five minutes before it turned back on."

"Five minutes you say?" Aizawa asked.

"Yes. In the time elapsed, that small opening was made. It was too small and I don't see anything that could indicate what damage it did to the system overall, but it did something and I'm a bit worried as to what it is. I'm not that well-versed in networking compared to some of my other colleagues… but I am suspicious as to what that small opening means." Power Loader said.

"Are the students safe Aizawa?" Nezu said.

"They're back to their classrooms, mostly in thanks to Midoriya and that Iida kid. They managed to repel the panic in the lunch hall pretty well for the most part. Even the third years weren't able to dispel the event, we're lucky she and her classmate managed to stop it before it became worse." He said, drawing eyes of most that were present. It was rare for him to compliment anyone at any situation, and hearing him say it towards the girl where he was very reluctant in taking in said so much about how he thought of her.

"Aizawa… is that being proud I hear?" Nemuri teased.

"No. It's was a simple observation. It was a warranted compliment to those two." He said to them. Nemuri continued to smile as the man rolled his eyes.

"The girl shows leadership skills then? That could be useful for her future." Ectoplasm suggested.

"Dangerous too. She would proactively make herself the vanguard for her classmates at this situation. Which to us, who know of her condition in the grand scheme of things… is a bad idea." Vlad King added to which most of them agreed.

"We need to double our efforts in watching her this time. If this event was caused by someone who wanted the girl, then we need to make sure to secure the school and herself in the moment of a sudden, real attack." Aizawa suggested.

"That reminds me… where are All Might and Inko?" Nemuri said.

"They've gone to see the girl last I checked. For her protection I don't think we need to worry that much, as those two seem to respond at the ready whenever something happens to her." Nezu replied.

"Still. We need to keep tabs on everything in the school starting from now on." Aizawa said.

"I agree Mr. Aizawa. Starting from now, the entirety of the school is in a tight lockdown whenever classes are in effect. Like prior adjustments, this needs to be kept from the students. We don't want to insinuate panic. Ms. Kayama, I need you to inform Ms. Midoriya and All Might about the contents of this discussion." He said as the woman nodded. "For now, I suggest we get back to our work. Classes should have started fifteen minutes from now. It's best we don't manage to scare our students since their teachers haven't returned yet. Understood?"

All of them nodded as the meeting was adjourned. Power Loader remained as Nezu wanted to speak to him a bit further.

"Contact your colleagues. I want to know what exactly happened with this small breach to our network servers. Should this be a large concern, knowledge about it will surely help us."

"I'm on it." he said as he stood up from his seat, carrying his things.

"Oh… and one more thing."

"What is it sir?"

"Double check the school's perimeter walls just to be safe. Take Hound Dog with you after classes are over. Should there be an issue or something worth noting of, contact me directly."

The Excavation Hero nodded once more with a greeting as he left the room.

Nezu then pulled out his phone and dialed a certain person that he needed to talk to. The wait for that person he called to wasn't long as the call was picked up after a few seconds. The familiar voice of a certain Detective Naomasa was heard and Nezu began talking with him.

Mainly about the known criminal activity surrounding areas near the UA campus.

Because his own senses knew that this was only the beginning.

* * *

19:21 Hours, Toshinori Yagi's Residence...

Izumi was drawing plans on a group activity given to them by their teacher Cementoss, the presentation was for this week, detailing a visual report on a book that was assigned to them. The group that she was in was comprised of Kyouka, Sato, and Kaminari. She had already drew plans for their report and they all agreed to do a video chat for tonight to act as their first group meeting.

Izumi was excited as she tried to fix a summary of the jobs and tasks that she suggests their group to do during the duration of their preparation. At first, she only wrote it on her notebook before making a soft copy. She was thrilled to do this and the entirety of her preparation was done so (in her humble opinion) in a well-managed manner. Back then she wasn't a leader of any group in any school activity, nor was the class representative.

So to have those things now was an enriching experience and a rewarding one knowing that while she wasn't the best at this stuff, she was good enough that most of her class trusted her to be. She liked the feeling of being given such a responsibility, but deep down it did make her feel a bit overwhelmed knowing that a lot of things were now in her hands and that she had to take care her whole class alongside it. The thought was intimidating, but with the support and love of people close to her, she knew that she could pull it off.

She surely hoped so.

She was checking in as well to the group chat her classmates created for themselves from time to time. While not really that active in-chat, she found it quite a treat reading what most of her classmates were up to. A chuckle was made every so often when a topic came to notice. In that sense as well, she did participate when she was being asked of or if she was the topic itself.

Her best friend Himiko seemed to enjoy her time in the chat too. It was great seeing her so social towards other people in class, as back then they always talked about how Izumi was the only one to accept because of how other people reacted to her quirk.

She smiled knowing that, and while they didn't talk as much as back then she was happy that most of the time spent was placed in her having a good time with new friends. Kyouka mostly came as a surprise to both of them, the tomboyish girl became quick friends with both of them, and while Izumi had met her prior during the Entrance Exam, it didn't stop Himiko from clearly making the girl her new closest friend.

They were so close in fact, that the two were chatting non-stop in their own chatroom. A fact that was shared to her by Himiko who kept on asking Izumi to join their chatroom. The redhead agreed, only on the condition that she bring Momo to the table. The blonde girl had accepted the request, but that chatroom was still dominated by the two, as Momo and her were kept on the side most of the time.

Momo on the other hand, was a gem for Izumi. The girl was so supportive, smart, and kind that she really loved it when she and her made conversations with each other. Add the fact that she was the vice representative, it gave Izumi someone to trust on when it came to decisions for their class.

Their conversations were well-placed too, to the point that that their talks managed to confuse their classmates as to what they were referring to in some cases.

In summary, she really liked this new school of hers. More so than any school she's been to. Sure, her week wasn't exactly the best in terms of how everything played out, but with these new classmates, teachers, and places to explore… she couldn't think of a better place to study for her hero course.

A sudden vibrate of her phone was felt on the desk she was working on. This spare room All Might gave for her and her mom wasn't that stylish nor had anything inside to speak of. It was a guest room after all, and what lacked of taste inside this room was made up with how big it was.

Kaguya lamented that while the whole house was mostly kept by herself, this particular room was sealed off in preparation for 'future kids' her boss would have should he have a wife. Kaguya lightly smirked at her when she told her that and even added that it was a secret, implying that her boss himself was clueless to the true reason. She wondered why at first, but the woman simply gestured towards her mother and All Might inside the car as they drove home together.

Izumi was a bit surprised that Kaguya caught wind of it, although at this point her mother was a tad bit obvious that she really liked this 'old friend' of hers. The two then made a silent agreement towards each other to possibly push those two forward in their relationship. Possibly even more with that.

Izumi smiled when she recalled that as she took her phone.

As her screen opened up, she noticed that Kyouka was trying to message her about something. With a quick open of the app itself, she saw what the message contained.

**PurpleBlues: Have you seen the chat?**

** FireFlower: What's wrong?**

** PurpleBlues: You have to see it. Just… don't be embarrassed okay?**

** FireFlower: Why?**

** PurpleBlues: You'll see.**

Izumi moved to the main group chat of Class 1-A and saw a very peculiar topic being talked about.

One involving her own mother of all people.

Izumi's eyes widened when she what the chat was talking about in regards to the sudden appearance of her mother in class after the alarm incident.

**Static: Yea... how is her mom that beautiful? I mean look at her! **

** CutiePie: Hey! My Izu isn't ugly you duck!**

** Book: Uh, guys I don't think you should talk about Izumi's mom… in this chat.**

** ThighsForLife: Why not? We're only celebrating because of how hot her mom is. **

** WhipLash: Dude, Seriously… that's gross. Have respect for her mother man.**

** ThighsForLife: Being Hot is a compliment Sero! Don't fight me over it!**

** PurpleBlues: You guys are the worst. You do know that Izumi can read this chat right?**

** Io: Is this really how male students in Japan think?**

** Book: Oh God. Guys! Please stop, you may ruin our reputation with Sylvia here.**

** SeeThrough: But I have to agree that her mom was really beautiful. Even I felt a bit conscious of myself seeing her.**

** CutiePie: Toru! Don't be on their side.**

** SeeThrough: I'm not… just stating what I really felt earlier.**

** Shoto Todoroki: Why am I part of this chat?**

** ThighsForLife: Todoroki! Back us up here! Don't you agree that Midoriya's mom is hot?**

** Shoto Todoroki: Why would I answer that question?**

** SugarPunch: I agree with Todoroki here… asking that question is weird.**

** ThighsForLife: GUYS! Come on!**

** KingExplosion: Shut it you little clown.**

** FireFlower: Uh… can I say something to you guys? Especially you Mineta…**

** CutiePie: Oh… I think I know what she means. XD**

** ThighsForLife: What is it?**

** Book: Her mom has a temper. **

** FireFlower: Yep. What Momo said. There was an incident back then where a rogue villain nearly attacked me, and she managed to beat him faster than I could ever see it happen. **

** ThighsForLife: Say what?**

Izumi had a large grin on her face when the chat went into a small uproar after hearing that. The story was true after all, her mother's telekinetic abilities amazed even her who already knew that she had those set of abilities. While she wouldn't become angry at what her classmates were saying, Izumi just made sure so that the topic was shelved. It was awkward hearing them talk about her mom.

The reason for that sudden shift of conversation in regards to her mother was because of what happened earlier in school. A rather awkward turn of events that made Izumi all the more embarrassed. She didn't know that she would live the day to see her mother embarrass her in front of everyone in such an awkward manner.

The first thing that happened was when she accepted Katsuki's request to talk to her alone outside the classroom. While this drew attention, it didn't really mean much as the class already knew that she was the only one who could talk to him eye to eye without any problems at all. He was serious at the reasoning of this request, so she agreed to it. The start of it was pretty usual and even with the dominating arm over her shoulder as she was pressed on the wall, they were interrupted abruptly before their conversation even started. In a rather precarious position, Izumi had to explain to her mother what happened and what exactly was going on.

Her mother was so surprised and annoyed that she accused her of 'having a boyfriend that she didn't tell them about'. Their voices may have attracted a few attentions from inside their class. Add the fact that All Might was there, it turned into the most talked about topic of their classroom even after dismissals.

She still sighed in shame after letting her classmates see that. This also stopped Katsuki from talking with her alone about something. She was curious of that too.

_I can't really blame mom from acting like that._

Classes resumed after the initial incident in the cafeteria was fixed. They all learned afterwards that the alarm was triggered by the media after all. It did make her wonder how the hell they managed to get through the main gate, as seeing it up close when it was sealed shut really made her question that odd occurrence. Fortunately, her aunt explained that it wasn't anything to be afraid of or concerned about when her class came.

She had to admit as well that while she did like being in this place… the home of her mentor and teacher All Might, she did miss their old apartment. She missed her aunt even though they saw each other every day. Things really changed for her life in a rapid pace this week, and she hoped that she could keep up with those changes as time went on, because as it stands now…

She knew that everything was changing around her.

Even her quirk.

Izumi looked at her hand as her vision turned in a small ounce of red throughout its edges. She had her headband on keeping the power in check. It did make her wonder how her quirk actually works to tis full extent. She had the general idea of the abilities it possessed, but at the current state with the various sudden spikes and misuse caused by her inability to completely harness it, it did make her scared not knowing what her full capabilities are.

A flicker of her red energy sputtered to life on her hand.

That was 5% of her power as she dubs it.

The peak of her strength was about 46% in the Entrance Exam…

And it was already that strong that she couldn't remember most of it. She did feel deep inside her that she could go pass that… but what happens to her when she does?

Will she lose control again?

Another vibrate from her phone stopped her from contemplating that thought further. It brought her back to reality as she remembered what she was trying to do tonight in this room.

The message was from Kyouka, asking her if they were ready to start.

Izumi fixed herself with her light green pajamas and replied to Kyouka that they should start.

Besides… she had nothing to worry about tomorrow anyway. Her quirk was in an okay spot, a few assignments of hers was due for tomorrow and a special training regimen was to be hosted by their homeroom teacher and two other guest teachers.

Everything will be fine she said to herself.

Just… fine.

* * *

**A FEW MINUTES LATER…**

"So… how'd I do?" Inko said as she tried to take off the apron she used from a small baking project a few minutes earlier. Supper was already finished and it was Kaguya's cooking that got all of them full. For dessert tonight, Inko volunteered to make them chocolate muffins, a favorite dish of her daughter whenever they had time back in the day. Toshinori had allowed her to make them the delectable treats as he was curious himself of how that would taste. Kaguya as always managed to help in the baking process and she studied the woman's style carefully, trying to make note of it should she need to mimic it someday.

The muffins were taken out of the oven with Inko's quirk, and she levitated them towards the table where Toshinori was waiting to take the first bite. He took one and examined it for a few moments before smelling it after.

"Oh come on. I'm not going to poison you. I thought that part our relationship was gone by now." Inko said as she rolled her eyes. Toshinori gave a chuckle as he took a bite out of the treat. Kaguya did so as well as she was seemingly transfixed at the muffin in her hands. She took a large bite out of it, bigger than Toshinori's. Her eyes glistened for a moment with surprise and pleasure as she looked at Inko.

"Wow." She said.

"I have to agree. This is delicious." Toshinori added as Kaguya continued to eat her muffin. Inko smiled smugly at she placed the apron neatly on the table. She sat on one of the chairs and stared at her judges.

"This reminds me of my mother's cooking. Maybe I can borrow the recipe the next time I visit home." Kaguya lamented as Inko nodded at her.

"Sure… it's great seeing other people enjoy it. Izumi's the only one who likes it best, as Nemuri wasn't really a fan of sweets. She gets annoyed that she'll get fat one day."

"Heh… I can imagine why. You're not bad yourself, you're pretty well-built in your age."

Inko frowned at his remark.

"So if I was a fat bitch you'd care less for me huh?" she said with an eyebrow raised. Toshinori spat a few bits of the muffin in reflex as he tried to explain what he said.

"N-No… I didn't mean that! I was just saying that you look good all things considered! Better than me actually!" he said as he waved his hands around in his defense. Inko gave a playful smirk as Kaguya watched them both in this interaction.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood. Otherwise I would have done something drastic." She threatened lightly as the man chuckled in a nervous way. Not that he was scared of her, but more so that he didn't want to be in the bad side of Inko.

"Anyway… Have you already mailed the list to our contacts?" Inko said as she shifted the tone to a more important one. Toshinori changed in a more serious tone too as the list they made earlier in his office at UA was completed after they ran most of the names of those who died fourteen years ago in the tragedy. This also included the numerous other people exposed by Izumi's red energy and the quirks they possessed. Especially 'One for All', although to be more precise they were only able to get certain quirks from all eight holders of 'One for All' as some of them were lost in time due to secrecy. Even Gran Torino wasn't told everything when he and Nana back in the day talked about this quirk.

Still, having most pieces of the puzzle made it easy for them to know what exactly they were dealing with. After they finished, they sent the resources to all of their known contacts that know of the girl's real condition. Nezu bid the faculty staff to discuss these findings at a later date, as normal classes were always being interrupted because of this reason and various other events that took place this week. Toshinori agreed to that in a full sense, as he himself was not keeping up with the classes under his tutelage. Thankfully, it didn't seem like it would draw suspicion since it was still the first week of class.

"I've already double-checked the moment we arrived. You don't need to worry about it." he reassured. Inko tapped her fingers on the table as her thoughts were racing on something else.

"What about Gran Torino and your detective contact? Have they gone through the names yet?" Inko asked. The reason being was that when they sent out the names, Inko made a suggestion to run any known connections or persons in relation to the various villains that died trying to get Izumi during that night. Both of them agreed that if such people exist, then they may have a clue or two as to the whereabouts of the man or group of people that wanted her extracted fourteen years ago. Inko was given a third-party contract when she set out to find Izumi, so she had little to no clue as to who those people were. The request also included verification on the two people that were hiding the girl on that night. Inko wanted to know how they came upon the girl in the first place, and if they were her real parents.

If they were… then they had to know what the clear origins of Izumi are.

"I haven't gotten a reply yet, but I'm sure he's on it. He's never let me down in the past before, so I know he won't this time."

"Yeah… I hope so." Inko said as she clasped her fingers together. The topic of Izumi's origin was something that weighed a lot on her. While she was happy being a mother to the girl now, it did make her question who the girl's real parents were… and why she found her that way during that night.

"Inko… I can't promise that we can get to the bottom of this soon, but we will in time. You just need a little bit of faith."

"Faith from who? You?"

"From the people that are willing to help you… and yes, you could add me to that list too." He chastised with a small smile as Inko smiled back.

She sighed as she let herself to calm down.

"Faith huh?" she said. "I'll hold on to you on that."

They both shared a small chuckle towards one another as the minutes pass with light conversations. Kaguya had left the scene a few minutes in as she had a phone call to make. Izumi was still upstairs doing her homework.

In the middle of their conversation, Toshinori's phone had buzzed to life.

He took it out as he saw that the caller was Gran Torino. Inko nodded at him to take the call, he did so expecting there to be good news.

"Toshinori? Are you there?"

"Yes sir. Is there any news from our inquiry?"

"There is… is the kid's mom there near you?"

Toshinori looked at Inko who was waiting in anticipation. He replied with confirmation.

"Then put this on speaker. I think you both need to hear this."

Toshinori put his phone in speaker as he placed it in the middle of the table. Inko was sitting across where he sat and they were waiting for what news the old man was going to give them.

"Ms. Inko can you hear me loud and clear?"

"Yes Gran Torino I can. Has there been any leads to our inquiry?"

"The names on the list you gave me didn't lead to a lot of people. It seemed like most of the closest relatives or people they were contact in are either dead or behind bars. Some don't want to comment or have no contact with the people on this list for about a few years before they died in the tragedy… leading us with little to really scrape information from."

Inko bit her lip when she heard that.

"Even those two corpses of what you both theorize as the parents of the kid don't really say anything else about their profiles. The male was named Hiachi Saigo and the female was Koharu Ameno. Both of which are poverty-stricken individuals that have no prior relationship with each other that's been recorded. They have a few felonies under their name, especially the woman but that's where the file stops. As to what you allegedly saw or heard from them at that night, we can't confirm specifically."

Inko felt a sense of guilt recalling those two. Especially the woman, who pleaded so much for her to take Izumi into her care. She never forgot that face that took hold of her close before her final moments. A blind promise that Inko never thought she would uphold even now, yet that change of heart allowed her to be part of Izumi's life. A life that she would never give away.

"Shit." She cursed.

"Is there anything else you want to say to us sir?" Toshinori said.

"Look, I know you two are desperate for any morsel of information, most the names on this list are like I said, gone or don't have anything related to them that we can use today."

"Then why did you call?" Inko asked.

"Well, the reason is simple. While there are no current leads, we do have one person who recently got out of jail after he was 'reformed'. He had contact with one of the names on the list briefly but he never took the job as it seemed. He took an alternative job all the way to Okinawa on the night of the incident. My best guess is he may hold a clue to who this mystery client you told me about is."

Both of them looked at each other in reaction to the news.

"I can send you both the details of his address later. Good luck with what you can find from him."

It was good news. It may not be exactly what they needed, but both agreed that this was a good head start. Toshinori took the phone as he changed it back to a normal call while Inko had a sigh of relief with what was found.

"Thanks Gran Torino. We'll make good use of this." He said before the phone call was ended.

Toshinori pocketed his phone as he looked at Inko.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

"If we're given the address, I think we should visit him as soon as possible."

"Alright. I'll call Nezu tomorrow to tell him about it. We should leave as early as possible, we'll talk to the guy and make sure he gives us at least a clue as to what we're dealing with."

Inko nodded as she tried to take in all of this information given. She was close to this mystery of the past, and she wished that it would be solved so that Izumi's situation would turn out okay.

Toshinori caught wind of this and placed a hand on her shoulder.

They smiled at each other as things were set in motion yet again. Until they were interrupted when Izumi seemingly screamed from upstairs. Both of them looked at each other before they bolted up the stairs towards the girl's room. They were surprised to see Kaguya there who looked calm rather than panicked. That's when they saw through the open door was the redhead girl in question.

Worry and panic in her face as she awkwardly looked at her mother, All Might, and Kaguya.

"H-Hi mom, All might… heh, I-I'm floating." She said as she tried to balance herself in the middle of the air, failing while doing so.

"Can anyone please help me down?" Izumi said as she was getting uncomfortable of this new aspect of her quirk. Kaguya walked towards the girl as they tried to make her settle on the ground. Inko felt a bit of fear in her senses as she realized that Izumi's quirk and the reason it was having drastic changes was because it was evolving at a rapid pace. The time in those years they spent on suppressing the girl's quirk was biting back at them, the remainder of that six thousand or more abilities were starting to emerge as Izumi continued to use her quirk.

She could picture Juno right now, smiling at her with how big of a responsibility she was holding.

She frowned at that. She then looked at her side and saw Toshinori a bit perplexed and shocked at this new development. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he snapped out of it and looked at her.

"What is it?" she said.

"She's floating. T-That was… that was my master's quirk."

* * *

7:23 Hours, UA School Campus Grounds…

Izumi was waiting by the cafeteria of the school for someone. Lunch Rush and his staff were preparing breakfast meals in case any of the students, staff, or teachers would like to take a bite before classes start. Most of her classmates were at their classroom by now and she was specifically waiting for one blonde boy who wanted them to talk face to face…

Without any interruptions.

Now seemed like the best time before classes would start and Izumi was ready. The fiasco last night in regards to the floating enigma of her quirk, it did scare her a bit. It again made her wonder what her quirk really was, because as it states now it seemed like she had multiple quirks all together inside her system and it felt like it didn't stop there. Like more was to come.

She did however think that this could be the result of All Might's quirk. While 'One for All' was seldom really used by her (to which she thinks is the strength enhancement, speed enhancement, etc.), it did make her rethink if this was really a quirk from 'One for All'. If it wasn't then she was a bit scared at the prospect of having multiple quirks. As losing control over herself like last time could bring danger to anyone around her.

She sighed at that thought as she sipped the chocolate milk drink she was holding.

She had a small meal that consisted of Lunch Rush's noodles, and while she indeed liked the dish, she gravitated more towards her mother's katsudon than this.

Looking around for any sign of Katsuki, she began thinking of what exactly the guy wanted from her. He was too serious about it, and she yet again thought that maybe this was because of her 'efforts' of showing off towards the class.

It was unintentional at best, she didn't want fame nor attention but the world seemed to reject that notion entirely.

"DEKU!" a voice shouted as Izumi turned her attention towards the angry-looking Katsuki who continued to storm towards her. He took a seat just across her on the table and grumpily stared at her as Izumi felt yet another feeling of awkwardness.

There was a soft silence at first as they looked at each other face to face. Izumi tapping her fingers on the table reflexively in anticipation (like her mother).

"Uh… are we going to talk or-

"Just making sure no one can interrupt us." He said to answer her question in a rapid reply.

"Oh." She said as he looked around.

"Hmph. Looks like there's no shmuck to stop us from talking."

"Y-Yeah…" she looked around the cafeteria, there wasn't a chance whether her friends, mother, or anyone was going to interrupt them. "Seems like it."

"Good." He said in a grumble.

"So… what're we talking about?" Izumi asked.

The boy crossed looked at her with a challenging expression, the girl didn't know why exactly but she figured that he was expecting that she knew the reason why they were talking at all.

"Uh… is this about my-

"What's going on with you Deku?"

Izumi blinked at the question.

"What do you mean?"

He narrowed his eyes at her as he leaned forward for a bit, resting his elbows on the table as his serious look overtook her completely. She felt a bit nervous as to how serious he came upon her.

"Your quirk. I want to know what your quirk is."

"Kacchan… look, my quirk isn't something that you and I can simply talk about." She replied, she did call him by that name to hopefully take him out of his serious tone and back to his usual annoyed self, but he didn't. He only continued to examine her with those piercing red eyes of his.

"Why is that exactly?" he asked.

"Well… it's complicated. In truth, I don't understand much about it myself. I only know a few details that are consistent. But as it stands… I'm not entirely sure what it is, or what to call it for that matter." She explained as she let out her hand and a portion of Black Whip manifested on her palm as they waved there. Back then, when these tendrils manifested themselves they used to burn in pain with prolonged use. Now, it was merely a small sensation that wasn't worth noting of.

Katsuki watched her as the headband glowed faintly in red. Her eyes were glowing the same as well. She sat there like nothing bad had happened from the days prior until now.

"You can't control it can you?"

Izumi's eyes widened I surprise at his statement.

"Why would say that?"

"I've seen it. Specifically the time you and that half-colored bastard fought in the battle trials. You weren't in complete control were you?" he said.

Izumi didn't know how to reply. She did know that some of her classmates noticed that detail, but he seemed far too in-depth with his questions that she knew that he had other reasons as to why he was asking them specifically.

"I wasn't. Especially at the end… Katsuki, why are you asking me this? Is this the entire reason why you wanted to talk to me?" she admitted with a question.

The boy exhaled deeply and wanted himself to get straight to the point.

"Before the Battle Trials at lunch… what exactly were you doing at that time?"

"Sitting with Himiko and the others…"

"You left right?"

Izumi looked downwards in shame and fear in admitting it. It was a terrible memory, and her quirk not functioning the way she wanted it to was scary in her perspective. Having that much power to lift and destroy the zero pointers would considerably do large amounts of damage towards people around her. She didn't want that.

"I did. I excused myself to the restroom."

"Where exactly did you go?"

Izumi looked at him.

"W-Why are you asking?" she said.

"Because I saw you Deku. I saw you crying outside the school's gardens beside a tree. You didn't see me there but I saw and heard what you were doing. You were crying there… as to why exactly I want to know. Because I'm sure as hell that I'm not the only person who noticed how you nearly killed half and half there at the end of the simulation."

Izumi stood there frozen as he laid it down.

"What's going on with you?"

"W-Were you the only one who saw?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah. I was, but answer my question first."

At the very least he was the only one and she knew that she could trust him on not telling anyone about it. She looked at him with a pale expression, knowing that someone was aware in some capacity that she had no total control over her quirk that kept on changing as days continued to pass.

"I don't know Katsuki… I'm scared of myself actually. I'm scared of hurting anyone around me. I'm trying my best to hold it in, and even though this…" she touched the tip of her horned headband. "This helps me from completely unleashing it all, but it can only do much… and it wasn't strong enough to stop me from losing control momentarily during that day. I'm thankful I managed to pass out before I did any real damage."

"So you were crying about that huh?"

"Y-Yeah…"

He sighed as he stood up. Finally resting his case on the conjecture though he still wanted to say something to her.

"Deku… I don't know what the fuck is happening with that ridiculous quirk of yours. But you promised me that you and I would compete for the spot of the number one hero soon in the future. I can't have you go all weak and crying over something that I know you can fix. So do you fucking best in making sure you control yourself. Your quirk is strong, so is mine but that doesn't mean it's easy to control. You're better than that… and I fucking know you're not a pussy to back out of a fight."

As he said those words, he left the table and looked at her one more time as her expression was a mix of surprise and shock at how he said that sentence. It was a challenge and a compliment rolled into one, and what stood out was that he believed in her and trusted her to do better.

She didn't know how to react to that.

"See you in class Deku. Make sure you think about what I said."

Izumi smiled a bit as she looked at the time. Class was about to start, and she smiled knowing that one more person counted on her to be strong.

And of all people, it was him.

As she walked back to her classroom, her phone buzzed to a notification. She was surprised to see that her homeroom teacher managed to text her a message, she wondered where he could have gotten the number, but she shrugged it off as nothing important.

What the message however gave her excitement as her whole class was about to go on a rescue simulation at a designated area in the school campus. Aizawa told her to ready her classmates when the time comes so they would be prepped for what was in store.

She smiled knowing that this day may in fact go her way this time.

* * *

11:13 Hours, Somewhere in Aldera City…

"This is the place?" Inko said as she looked at a rather-drab looking apartment building in the middle-class portion of the city. There was a flurry of activity around them as it was still early in the day were people were bound to their jobs. Toshinori parked the car in front of the address given to them and he wondered the same thing as he looked at the place.

He looked at his phone to see if this was the address Gran Torino gave them.

"It's the place alright."

"So he's living in an apartment, at what room and floor?" Inko said as she closed the door of the car. They started to walk towards the main entrance of the building side by side as they readied themselves to meet this person. The person in question was a former villain named simply as 'Starchild', who had a quirk that allowed him to cause a blinding flash that would disorient anyone who looks at his presence. He was not that much of a nuisance as he was quickly apprehended after three failed attempts at a job. To know that he was living here after getting out of prison made them both think that the guy did not have a job still to work on.

"It says here he lives at door 21 of the third floor." Toshinori replied as they entered a less than usable elevator that was slowly creaking from their weight. She considered stairs at first, but Toshinori said that he was only given enough time before he could return to UA.

But the elevator ride in itself was slow… and hot.

It didn't help that it was tightly packed for both of them. Leaving them to be so close to each other as their sides stuck. Thankfully, Toshinori's frame wasn't in his powered form. Should that have been the case, the elevator ride would have been far more awkward between them.

Although, she a bit of her kinda liked this. It reminded her of the old apartment back when she was young, and the numerous trips she and Hisashi used to do. Right now it was Toshinori beside her, and she didn't think ill of that.

"Open already damn it." he said as the elevator finally arrived at the floor they needed to go to.

"Would it have helped if there was music?" she teased.

"I would have loved it more if we manage to get out of it quicker than what I would have liked it to be." He complained. Inko smiled as the doors opened.

"So you didn't want to be close to me then?" she teased.

Toshinori went speechless as she walked out with a wink.

_This woman's gonna be the death of me. _He thought as he caught up to her. They walked along hallway that had their destination at the end of it. The scenery was bland for the most part. Some of the wallpaper was hanging on some certain areas, and the very few people that were in this place only gave them a short glance before moving on.

"Have I ever told you that this reminds me heavily of my old apartment?"

"The one you and Midnight shared?"

"No… not that. The one in my younger days."

"Oh. That." He said as he recalled the conversations about Hisashi and her old life.

"What's with the long face?" she asked, seeing him a bit too concerned with what she just told him. She smirked when he simply waved the thought off just as they arrived at the door of their supposed informant. Inko put all other thoughts aside as Toshinori looked at the door.

"This is it. Door 21" he said.

"Should we knock first? Or do we barge straight in?" Inko asked.

"Really? We're in a public place Inko, and I don't think it'll roll of the news that All Might seemingly broke down someone else's apartment."

"Heh… you're no fun." She said as they shared a chuckle. Toshinori then made a knock on the door as softly and courteously as he could muster. Inko stood by as they waited.

No response.

He tried knocking again and called out the real name of the person they desired to talk to.

Still nothing.

"Maybe he isn't home?" Toshinori suggested.

"Hmmm… let me try something. I don't want to leave her empty handed after all." Inko said as she expanded her sensory field.

"Hey, I thought we agreed that we shouldn't do anything drastic here."

"Relax Toshi, have a little faith in me. I won't do anything stupid." She replied as she felt the surrounding area around her. She noticed something odd with the lock on the door. It wasn't locked nor was it barred from the inside. A red note already flew at that direction as she felt a tinge of something fishy on the onset of that revelation.

"The door isn't locked." She said.

"It isn't?"

Inko tried to make sense further of what the room in front of them was. She then felt random objects strewn across the floor, and one small fact made her feel suspicious.

"Inko?"

"There's nobody inside. At least what I can sense of that is…"

"What does that mean? We can't just barge in there without a warrant. It's illegal."

Inko frowned at that statement.

"There's another thing inside that makes me feel like something's wrong with the place." She explained as she tried to expand her sensory field further, until she noticed something else within the apartment room.

A body, or someone lying on the floor.

"Toshinori… there's someone inside." She exclaimed.

"And?"

"He's not moving. Neither is his heart beating."

The man instantly widened his eyes in realization as to what that meant. He knew that it was illegal to do such a thing, but if there was a dead body inside then it would be warranted somehow. He looked around the hallway to see if anyone was there and buffed himself up to his powered form. Readying himself on any possible outcome that would occur in the next few seconds.

He looked at Inko as they agreed to enter the apartment together.

Both of them felt that something different was going on here, and if there was a body, they wanted to know why the man died.

Toshinori placed his large hand on the door handle and opened it slowly. The door creaked forward as they got a good view of the place. True enough, the entire apartment looked like it was ransacked. Objects and other appliances were thrown across the floor like someone had broken in and caused such a mess.

They moved in slowly with caution, hoping not to tamper the crime scene further so that they would get an explanation as to what happened. Toshinori moved on ahead as he examined the living room, Inko on the other hand looked around seeing what little evidence she could find. Possibly a notebook? Maybe names or something close to that.

They found nothing worth finding at first as they arrived at the doorway to the room where a supposed body was sensed by Inko. Toshinori nodded at her to open the door with her quirk slowly, in case something was inside.

Inko's focus drifted towards the lock quickly and opened it with haste before moving the door open in a slow and methodical pace. When the entire room was revealed to both of them, they saw that a man indeed was laying on the floor, and his blood was spread across the section of the floor where he laid himself on. the body looked fresh, as the blood was still in a very lively color of red.

This lead both of them to be way of what was going on here.

Inko bent down as she examined the corpse. There was an incision on the neck that got her attention and it was there where most of the blood came from. The attack was sloppy at best, but it got the job done to completely render the victim in a severe blood loss.

Toshinori decided that they needed to call this in.

However, something made him sense that there was more to this than just that.

"Inko… I think we need to get out of here. I don't like where this is going." He said.

"We need to make sure we don't leave empty handed first. Can you help me find something that can be useful from him? Maybe something with information? All the scraps of paper back there weren't helpful, nor were the notebooks I found."

"Do we really need to?"

"Toshinori, this man could probably be the last lead we have of Izumi's hunter in the past. If we don't find any information that he knows of from that night, we will never know the full picture of Izumi's past." She said as she started to pat the man's pockets and any other places he would keep something valuable in his person.

"Fine… let's just do it quickly before I call it in. Just-

They both froze when heavy footsteps were suddenly heard from outside the small room they were in. Toshinori clenched his fist when the footsteps stopped. He couldn't see who it was yet, but hearing such things in the situation where they were sure that they were the only ones inside the apartment made them feel on edge.

Inko tried to expand her sensory field to sense what it was…

But her senses came back with a blank result.

She widened her eyes in realization as to what it was… as she had encountered such abilities before.

"Shit." She whispered.

"What is it?"

"Whatever's outside… it's dampening my quirk." She whispered back as Toshinori felt the gravity of the situation they were in. He readied himself in the event of a fight, and if it was villains then he would make damn sure to end the fight quick.

There were far too many innocent people around to fight in. Casualties would be an issue should they prolong it. Thankfully, he was sure that Inko would back her up, and with her experience she could minimize the damage completely.

Unless…

"DUCK!" Inko shouted when a large black arm broke through the wall and grabbed Toshinori in the neck. The arm then pulled him forward outside of the room as concrete and dust blew over the place. Toshinori coughed from the smoke as it cleared. He then saw right in front of him, a towering large figure with black skin, a beaked mouth, and its brain exposed at the top of its head. It was sneering at him with an agitated expression.

"VILLAIN! DID YOU KILL THE OCCUPANT OF THIS PLACE?" he shouted as he threw a punch.

**THOOM!**

A small shockwave erupted as their hands met. The towering figure managed to catch his fist just in time, without taking any damage at all. This surprised both of them as the building shock under the weight of the small shockwave.

"WHAT?" he said as the being pulled his other arm to make a fist… and punched him as hard as he could.

**BWOOSH!**

Toshinori was blown out of the building through a large hole as he crashed down on the streets in front of the building. Inko stood there mortified and shocked at what just occurred, because in all out strength battle, there were little to no people that could match Toshinori's strength when he was All Might, and this thing managed to catch a strike without flinching.

She focused on the floor under it and tried to rupture in hopes of subduing it, but as she did so, she found that her quirk did not work as intended. That's when she noticed that the body in this apartment… was not a dead body after all.

The appearance of the body was an illusion and as the form shimmered, it revealed a similar looking villain with pale gray skin, an exposed brain along with serrated teeth. It grabbed hold of her neck in quick succession and forced her to the nearest wall. As it did that, its partner jumped out of the newly broken hole to combat All Might who was recovering down there.

"Ack!" she gagged as the villain leaned forward with a grin. His grip tightened, ready to kill her. Inko was blacking out, until she took out her trusty lighter and lit it the moment she opened it.

**FWOOOOMMMM!**

A pillar of fire crashed on the villain as he got smashed into the farthest wall from her. Leaving a small crater as it was knocked out temporarily. Inko tried to regain her breath as she stood up after being nearly choked to death…

She was going to press her attack further when she felt her phone vibrate.

She didn't want to see it at first, but after peeking what it was, she saw that it was Nemuri who was calling and there were messages saying that it was urgent. She then saw what the message said.

**"Answer the damn call and get back here! There are villains attacking the UA! We've lost contact with Aizawa, Izumi and the other are there with her!"**

Inko now understood whatwas happening.

She looked at her opponent who was just coming back from being knocked out earlier and it began to sneer at her with a growl.

Inko realized that this was all a set up…

And Izumi was left back in UA with no one strong enough to protect her.

"Oh no." she said as the villain lunged at her.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**AN: Oohh... a cliffhanger. Haha. I hope you stay tuned as next chapter's USJ event will be radically different than canon. I'm still planning out some last few details so that the action will be splendid, glorious, and most of all tragic... (hahahaha yep, something bad will happen next chapter and it will serve as Izumi's slow descent into understanding what her volatile quirk is). Hopefully my schedule doesnt get messy as I try to write this and one other story that I'm writing currently. **

**With that said, I hope you enjoyed and see you in the next update! Oh and uh, leave a follow and review too if possible!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: "THE RED DEMON" - The finale to Izumi's New Beginnings Arc commences as her will is tested when a villainous forces come for her, setting the stage for something sinister to happen. The redhead girl struggles to keep herself under control as she and her classmates fight for their lives without knowing that the girl was the whole reason they were in this fight in the first place. With odds stacked against them, Izumi is forced to unleash what her quirk's real purpose is... and her true colors are revealed to the people around her.**

**SIDESTORY 12 Coming Soon!**


	29. SideStory 12: The Penalty of Deceit

**AN: Sorry this took too long. I had work to sort out so I was very quiet these past few days. Thankfully, I have time again so updates will be a lot more frequent this time. Enjoy as I set up the finale to this story's version of the USJ Incident...**

* * *

SideStory #12

"The Penalty of Deceit"

She had been trying to call her contacts for hours now. Today was the initiation of their supposed plan. The plan of that man that promised her help to save her sister after she helps them in return. Their plan was simple enough for her to grasp. The main reason for it to be in place, was that they wanted All Might's demise… simple enough. Easy to do in that regard, as it would force the number one hero to take action since the school was his new priority. In order to do that, she was tasked to sabotage the UA, allow them a shortcut to bypass their defenses and do their deed.

The terms were simple enough, and they were sure that Izumi wasn't going to be part of the plan. At least that was what they told her. Things became slightly worrisome and different this time, the reason being was that her contact had not been able to reply to her with any of her wails and concerns. It bothered her relentlessly when she first thought about it, sure there was a break-in towards Izumi's apartment but she never correlated the two incidents to come from her shadowy and pale-skinned acquaintance. Multiple reports from police told her that it was a random break-in, caused by thieves who wished to vandalize and take money from the local residents of Izumi's apartment building. While it was fishy at first, she took it in stride when it came to the suspects that died on that attempt. They were all low-level thugs who were struggling in poverty, doing small crimes along the way in their careers.

For her acquaintance to hire such goons against a very powerful telekinetic quirk user, a pro hero that had a useful sleep-inducing quirk, and one really powerful teen that Himiko had no full understanding as to what her quirk really is; to pay them to face those odds was foolhardy and stupid. She knew that the two especially the one with the pale skin and gnarly teeth was by her perspective, intelligent. So she ruled that out even with the vague suspicions of it being a large possibility.

Especially since they called to deal with Izumi directly this time.

The girl to Himiko was a noteworthy accomplice, a piece in a chess board to rid her sister's captors. She would be useful when the time comes and she knew that Izumi's heart was far too heroic to never accept her pleas. However, she was far too clueless with this situation and Himiko knew that the redhead girl would instantly disown their friendship should she know about her true whereabouts.

It made her shudder how much she and Izumi have been close this past year.

No one in their right mind would even befriend her in the first place and at the beginning of their initial meet-up, Himiko didn't want to truly be friends with her… but that changed the moment time passed on between them and their relationship fluttered.

Sure, they didn't have time between them that much anymore with this new class of theirs, but Izumi and her were still close and she cherished that friendship somewhat. Deep down, Izumi was an important figure to her, much like how she described her when she talked to the girl's mother.

And to be honest… the only reason she took interest of Izumi was when she saw her at the Slime Villain Incident. The Quirk Enhancing Drug given to her by the goons holding her sister was tasked for her to find a worthy candidate of seeing how its effects work. They needed a large canvas to work on, so it was mighty convenient that she encountered that villain and gave him that formula. She watched from afar to see how the drug worked and it was a success for the most part, until she saw Izumi Midoriya amongst the chaos, and ever since then she never forgot about her nor was she absent from her mind entirely. Now, she didn't know how much the random sight of Izumi meant to her as they were now good friends, best friends as they would say.

She now meant a lot to her as she reformed a bond with her that she didn't know was possible in regards to other people. Her sister was the only one she cared about at that point until she met Izumi.

She was a special case that Himiko acknowledged, but regardless of her ethereal and surreal abilities, Izumi was still pretty much clueless that the world around her was slowly trying to get its hands on her. Himiko was only brought to this reality when the news from various sources in the underworld talked about a 'redhead girl' that had special abilities.

She only realized it was Izumi when her contact had asked for a blood sample.

Now, with the looming threat of their plan coming to fruition, Himiko was concerned for Izumi Midoriya, knowing that there could be a chance that there was an ulterior motive that she didn't see at first. She wasn't the brightest when it came to investigations and educated guesses, but a thought crossed her mind and it was because they asked about the girl's mother.

She gave them all the known info she had over Inko MIdoriya, and they were seemingly happy that she gave them such information at the first place. As for what reason, she wasn't sure at all. All she knew was that the woman was also a point of interest and her presence yesterday in UA alongside All Might made her feel suspicious.

Her concerns however wasn't a valid choice to tell Izumi about. How would that even work when she was the reason this plan was going forward in the first place? It would blow her cover and Izumi would be lost to her.

She had all of these wild thoughts as she continued to walk along the hallways of UA towards Class 1-A's room. She had been silent all the way there ever since she entered the school's campus grounds, for today would mark the first time the school would ever be attacked in a major sense. All Might was in fact here, and should they succeed in killing him, it would spark a major blow to this country and the world in general. She found it quite cunning if this was the main reason for the attack, as it would indeed leave a huge mark in society should it work. Keeping the deaths of multiple people and the Symbol of Peace was a not a thing that this school can keep as a secret for their failures.

But even though she never cared about these things, and whatever the outcome was…

She was indeed concerned upon the life of Izumi who would be put in the middle of this chaos. She wished that there was an option to stop her from coming to school today, but there was no leeway nor window of opportunity to best make her avoid this situation.

And knowing Izumi, she would put her life on the front line for her friends and the people that put their trust on her. It was so much more apparent now since she was the representative of their class. She would do anything to ensure their safety even if it meant by giving away her own.

Stupid, heroic, and borderline crazy…

But that was Izumi. That was the girl that was so optimistic about everything around her. One of the few beacons of light left in her world that mattered.

She sighed heavily thinking about that.

"Miko! Hey… you mind slowing down?" A voice said. Himiko turned her head and saw Izumi holding a chocolate milk drink in her hand as she walked towards her to catch up. Her bag was slung on one side and she had a cheery air around her, much like usual. Though this time, it felt like she was pleased about something earlier. As to what it was, she couldn't tell.

And much like every time they met, Himiko shifted towards a personality that Izumi knew far too well. A face that was only partially true in the eyes of those who knew her with it. Including her.

She grinned at her as she tried to shove all the negative thoughts down on the drain to properly maintain the façade.

"Izu… I thought you were at class by now?"

"I was supposed to, but I had something to do first before heading there."

Himiko tilted her head in question as Izumi sipped on her drink through a straw.

"And what would that 'something' be?"

Izumi visibly flinched at that question but smiled at her in response.

"Oh nothing… let's just say it was a bit more important than I thought. Which is why I think we need to hurry to get back in class. Mr. Aizawa wants to talk with me and Momo for something important later." Izumi said.

The proclamation made Himiko to lose her smile.

"Something important?" she asked.

"Yeah… it's a secret at least for you guys that I can't really disclose. Let's just say something big is going to happen later… and I'm excited for what it entails for the class!" Izumi cheerfully said.

"What is it?" Himiko said again.

"I told you Miko, I can't tell you. It's a secret and I don't want Mr. Aizawa to put me into another one of those death glares he has."

Himiko's worry and curiosity doubled. She grabbed Izumi's hand and tried to force it out of her. In the best way possible that she could think of. Her eyes widened and she made a pouty-cute face to guilt-trip her into telling.

"PLEASE IZU? I won't tell. I'm good at keeping secrets right?"

"Miko…" Izumi said as they stopped in the middle of the hallway. Multiple other students looking at them with awkward faces as Izumi tried to pry off a begging Himiko.

"PLEASE… I'll be your best friend." Himiko teased.

Izumi smiled with a sigh at her.

"You are my best friend. Always." She replied.

"Then tell me…" she pressed with a toothy grin.

"Alright… fine." She said as Himiko celebrated with a giddy laugh. Deep down she was in relief that she would finally tell her, as she wanted to know what it was and what it would mean for later.

"Mr. Aizawa says it's something big. Almost like the battle trials a few days ago and best of all All Might's going to be part of it… and get this, another special guest is going to teach us while we're at it!" Izumi excitedly said as she looked at Himiko, who for some reason went silent.

And her smile fell with it.

"Miko? Did I say something wrong or…" Izumi said as she waved her hand in front of her.

_No… this can't be. She'll be caught in the crossfire. If All Might is there then…_

"Hey! Miko… do you have a problem?" Izumi asked again as Himiko stared at her.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Izumi said as the blonde girl went pale.

_Oh no… _she thought as a wild variety of thoughts came down on her as the looming threat of the attack became all the more terrifying and worrisome for her.

* * *

Sylvia was sitting in her seat at Class 1-A's room. There were only a but a few classmates of hers that were present at the current moment and some of her 'friends' were busy talking with each other. Her cover was solid for the most part and she knew well that she could continue without any strife. Her mistress' point of interest, the Midoriya girl hadn't arrived yet so she kept herself vigilant. The job was to observe and protect her should the need arise.

It was easier in this margin at least as Izumi was a friend of hers at this stage. The girl was indeed interesting and so was the other individuals here that resided within this class. The lessons were tame and easy for her, as the Mistress already taught her so much. In some points, she feigned a bit with her intelligence at a given matter so that she wouldn't draw suspicion. It worked for the most part and the whole class was behind her in support.

She was indeed a foreigner after all, and even though she was able to digest Japanese very well compared to her partner in this, she continued to pretend that she didn't know some of the words, terms, and other important facets of the language to enable her cover to blend in perfectly. It also provided a degree of trust that was given to her by her classmates, most notably Izumi herself.

The cover was also solid for the natural reason of her own mute condition. It allowed for a natural degree of empathy to be directed towards her persona. It made them feel for her in a good way.

With all of that said, even though she acted for the sake of this task given to her, she was enjoying the experience somewhat. Having new friends aside from those her Mistress had was a fresh new upbringing. Even Izumi was a friendly soul that liked trying to communicate with her.

It made her smile knowing that maybe this was one of the reasons her Mistress gave her this job.

Or maybe… this came naturally for her.

**N: Io, do you read me?**

Sylvia returned her focus back to reality when she saw underneath the HUD of her vision, was a message from her partner and older 'sister' Nemain. Being a tech-based quirk user allowed her to have subtle upgrades on everything, including her eyes.

**I: What is it?**

** N: Inko Midoriya has been spotted downtown in Aldera. She's in a car with what we've determined as All Might in his depowered form. I've been following them for a few minutes.**

Sylvia looked around as Kyouka and Toru were talking about something and they asked her a question. Thankfully, she was still able to reply to Nemain even without focusing too hard to conjure a message.

**I: What does that mean for the current situation?**

** N: It means that our target is largely unprotected without those two. Even with the UA staff there, I'm still not comfortable that they're not present in case something goes bad.**

** I: I see… **

** N: What about you? Have you uncovered anything from yesterday's incident? The one you told me about that is.**

** I: I have. There seemed to be a breach in the security of UA. I have also traced a network breach in their systems. It seems someone is making their move against us. Though I cannot confirm who the suspect is.**

** N: There's a lot of activity recently with the villains posted here in Japan. If that breach was any indication, I think they're planning to do something drastic. The girl might be in danger if that's the case.**

** I: I agree. Though sister. There is one thing I need to tell you about.**

** N: What is it?**

Sylvia looked at the doorway of the classroom and saw Izumi finally arrive as she talked to Momo, and beside her was the blonde girl Himiko Toga. Sylvia narrowed her eyes at the girl as she replied her response to Nemain.

**I: There's a girl here. Blonde, red eyes, almost as tall as me.**

** N: What about her?**

** I: I believe she is worth investigating. Her actions are very suspicious and she's been acting differently lately than what Izumi Midoriya has told me.**

** N: Keep an eye on her. We'll discuss this later at length…**

** I: Understood. What about you?**

** N: They arrived at an apartment. I'm trailing them as we speak. Make sure you notify me when something happens.**

** I: I will.**

The line of text-based communication between them was cut and Sylvia watched as Izumi and Momo talked about something important. She also had her eyes on Himiko, who was now conversing with Kyouka.

A peculiar sight indeed this classroom is.

Hopefully this was a normal day unlike yesterday's events.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 16**

* * *

**AN: Thanks btw for all of those that still stay and read this. It's much appreciated! Even though this isnt as popular nor reviewed that much than my other story, I still thank that you guys are still reading this and hope that you stay for more. **

**Leave a review or follow like always!**


	30. SideStory 13: Warnings of Rapture

SideStory #13

"Warnings of Rapture"

The Hero known as Nighteye sat on his desk looking at a sample of one's blood in his hands. The doctor that he made a deal with to test said sample had returned with very… concerning results. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was, but the blood sample in itself was a very large problem should more of these people get it. The quirk gene within the DNA of this small sample was something radically different. Doctor Kiragami himself extrapolated that this was something unheard of before and was generally displeased that he wasn't given the proper in-depth look at it because of their deal. Nighteye knew that the man was only doing this to have personal gain on an otherwise game-breaking discovery. Thankfully the deal was still on and he wasn't allowed to take his results further than he wanted to. Should he have synthesized the sample in some small way, Nighteye would personally dig up a warrant that will cost the man his company and prized daughter.

The other reason he was concerned of the sample was because there was traces of 'One for All' within the gene. He knew it directly from All Might what the quirk's function was within the DNA of a subject host, and this small sample had traces of it. This made him aware that the old man, his old mentor had already chosen a successor, in the form of this girl that inherited 'One for All'. The same girl which was now being targeted by known at large villain groups. It was clear that the girl had something, and she was dangerous if her own natural quirk was something else entirely. Having 'One for All' here only made it significantly a risk, and for some reason Nighteye couldn't fathom why the old man chose this girl in the first place. By his margin and the estimate of the doctor, the quirk was massively powerful an in a professional sense, he couldn't even scale the damn quirk as to what it really was, and what it's limits are.

Clearly this was a danger and a hot topic that was brought to his attention the moment he caught wind of it. He would have to talk to All Might and discuss it with him. Maybe even see the girl for himself. As for Bubble Girl's short research, the girl's name was Izumi Midoriya. The file was short, brief and was very peculiar in a sense. The mother's name wass Inko Midoriya and the father's name was left blank. He felt a bit of suspicion over that, as even in some marital cases or relationship statuses, the state would always need a name for the father, whoever he was. There were exceptions to that rule, but with how bizarre the girl's quirk was, this left the missing biological father a resolute mystery.

What even surprised him was the fact that the girl was registered as 'quirkless'. Yet this small fraction of blood contained an anomaly in this era's quirk-research. There was also the fact that the girl displayed quite a show of power in the event of the Slime Villain incident. Arguably, the girl's tendencies were sloppy at that demonstration, but she nonetheless rendered that villain powerless against a weakened All Might. They even had a talk about that specific event after, the old man himself never stopped at praising the girl. He was in fact worried that he would choose her as the next successor of hiss quirk at the first place, since the girl was indeed a stranger.

Yet seeing it now, with how little the girl was talked about and how little interaction existed between him and his former mentor, this Nighteye to ponder that All Might knew of something he didn't.

And this small sample of the girl's blood is indicative of it.

The last phone call he made to All Might was also a very concerning sign, since the old man was very surprised, shocked, and blatantly worried at the new info given to him. Like the whole world mattered within the safety of that young girl alone. He could understand protecting the secret and power of 'One for All' but seeing that the quirk wasn't the only thing there was surprising in itself.

A quirk that Dr. Kiragami called as something entirely different that should this come out, it would shatter the perceptions of what limits future generations of quirks are. Nighteye wasn't really a fan or an optimistic supporter of the so-called "Quirk Singularity" theory. The reason being was that while it is a possible future to tackle, the incoming generations wouldn't have a sudden influx of powerful quirks in the vein of someone like All Might. It would take time and probable decades before such a thing could be worrisome. Evolution was never at a fast pace to begin with, and he believed that it would be the same for the next generation today. Sure, he did in fact see that some of the new quirks within the youth was promising and strong, but it wasn't at that level yet that demanded serious attention.

Yet…

This girl had something unseen before. An unknown quirk that could rival "One for All' perhaps even All Might's enemy as well. This made him re-evaluate his belief on that theory, but this does make him ask if this was really an indication that the "Quirk Singularity" has come at last.

He couldn't say for sure… but he would like to talk to All Might about it. Maybe he could shed some light as to why he chose the girl in the first place. He already had a candidate in mind, a young man he trained so far to be the best hero possible. He is still in school this year before he graduates in the next, but Nighteye was sure that he would become an exceptional hero. The whole reason he trained him was for All Might to choose him, and at first he did care little for the boy, until he grew to know him. He was as proud as a father now with how much his protégé progressed and he was ready to tell All Might about it, only for him to find out now that he already chose a candidate.

And passed his power on to her.

While he wasn't technically doubtful of all the decisions the old man made, it didn't really make him happy that he kept so much from him. Especially now, that he discovered the girl was a prime target of these villains for her unnatural quirk. One that they tried to replicate on live subjects that they desired to 'mutate' or possibly 'change'. The horrors of those images his friend in the covert ops made him feel sick in the stomach, and the fact that they seemingly demanded to have more samples of the poor girl made him worried for something big that would happen.

He sighed heavily thinking it over as his mug full of dark coffee continued to steam upon his desk. Bubble Girl would come back in a few moments after he tasked her to find out where this girl is at the current moment, and it would help for a few questions between them. Maybe he could even talk to the mother of the girl, and ask her about the mystery biological father.

He pushed the pen on his desk instinctively as he pondered on those thoughts. As he did so, he stared at the vial placed in the middle of his desk. The clock hands within his office ticking away as seconds pass. A small theory came upon his head. A possible action that could perhaps help in this new case somewhat.

He uncapped the vial and looked at the sample inside. He was unsure of this little theory of his as this was a mystery of his quirk that served him way back then when he first made use of it.

In the years of mastering and using "Foresight", he knew where its limits lay and how much he could see into the future either by a chosen few minutes, seconds, glimpses of an hour, or glimpses of possible fates within the future that to his knowledge was 100% accurate, and completely irrefutable.

The case with All Might did in fact made him scared. His death was already a thing they thought about during the years of their partnership, but it was never in the clause that it would happen within the next possible seven years after he first saw it with his quirk. This was the reason they wanted the old man to retire, to find a new candidate to pass the torch, as well as to make him settle down. As the future he saw found him dying in the hands of a terrible foe.

The identity of the foe wasn't identified nor was given enough credence as to who it was but it did give them the fear that the world's symbol of peace would perish under someone stronger than him.

The accuracy of his foresight was something he deemed immutable. Even the smallest of things did not change no matter how much he tested or experimented it on. So there was indeed a future that All Might would die, and even though luck had not shown that these visions were mutable, he still made it his objective to keep him alive. Having him act like this, not telling him anything about the girl made him scared and worried. He couldn't exactly call Kaguya and ask him what the old man was up to, since the woman was tied to All Might by what she called as "User's Discretion" being a butler to him.

All thoughts aside… the point of his small recollection was that he wasn't at all sure about the nature of his quirk entirely. The randomized showing of events in the future at different time periods made him squint at times, along with the problems of seeing very little that can be of use. True, it was still a powerful tool to have, having saved his and All Might's problems a lot back in the day.

Yet there were still a few failures that rattled them significantly. The worst was the Aldera Tragedy, a pile of dead by the thousands was never seen nor given foresight by him and All Might. He still recalled how much the old man reacted towards that event. How shaken he was as he himself felt the same way. He didn't wish for this to be the case anymore pushing forward, which is why he thought that maybe he could use the sample… to see through the girl's possible future.

Normally, Nighteye needed direct contact from the person through touch or other means. This would activate his quirk immediately after contact. Making him to assimilate what little info he needed and it would be enough until the next use of his quirk the following day. He looked at the uncapped vial and thought about the numerous experiments he did with his quirk and one of them was if it was possible to use "Foresight" upon remnants of DNA from a target he wanted to see. It was plagued with a lot of inconsistencies and failures, as most of the scrounged up DNA never gave him much to begin with. He was still clueless with that application of his quirk so he wanted to continue research on it.

He could in fact use his quirk directly at someone through watching them closely within his line of sight, but the quirk functioned in a more consistent term when it was direct touch.

He then theorized that maybe with this sample, he could "see" what the girl's future entailed. He would only make use of one drop just in case, and should it fail, there were other options to consider after all.

Angling the vial towards his finger, the small collection of blood dripped just as the tip of his index digit caught it. Making him see the droplet up close as he carefully balanced it upon his finger. He capped then capped the vial with his free hand and looked at the small droplet closely.

He was unsure if this was to work so he readied himself with any possible outcome.

A second later, his quirk activated…

He reacted with surprise at first. Until the small droplet of blood sparked to life and in a sudden surge, he fell to the floor. Pain came upon his head as his quirk seemed to continue working on its own. A swell of random images started to scatter into his brain as he held his hands over his head.

The pain worsened as the images continued to scatter.

Until a flash of light sparked upon the flare of images. Stabilizing them as Nighteye confusingly watched the scenes unfold. What he could understand at first was the image of three random scenes… each within seconds of events among them. Like a jumbled pair of videos playing in simultaneous order.

There was no sound at first… but he could only see one pattern.

A series of events that lead to terrible endings.

_Someone screaming as a blackened mass killed a person within its singularity. The girl crying in sorrow as her quirk slowly weakened as she sat across the remains of a dead person. Grieving in pain as blackened blood spread across her hands… a face of a beaked monstrosity and a pale-skinned figure in black, covered in hands._

_**A city scorched in ruins. A girl with red lightning raging across the masses of rubble and dead bodies. She had red protruding horns and was enraged of something, someone that she fought fiercely with every blow tearing the surroundings apart. Heroes tried to stop and save citizens, but the fight is fierce and the enemy… faceless while laughing at her. He wore a dark suit as he continued to torment the RED DEMON. It all ends with civilians and friends looking at her like a monster….**_

_**THE RED FIGURE DOMINATES THE SKY, IT SUCKS EVERYTHING FOR ITS OWN GAIN. FEEDING ITS OWN POWER. MAKING EVERYTHING DECIMATED AND DESTROYED WITHIN ITS WAY. NO ONE SURVIVES. ONLY IT THRIVES…**_

_**EVERYTHING DEAD…**_

_** ALL **__**QUIRKS ARE ITS OWN…**_

_**NOTHING WILL STOP AGONY'S EMBRACE…**_

Then Nighteye sees to his horror, that the red demon was standing atop the corpse of All Might.

He's dead.

That's when he realizes that this was the answer he thought of ever since he saw the future of his mentor. This was the killer. Whoever the red demon was… and what the girl's connection to it, made him shudder in fear.

This was serious now, he now knew who All Might's killer is.

The only question is, who exactly is this Izumi Midoriya?

And why was she tied to this fate? Was she the red demon? Was she The would be killer of All Might one day? A thousand questions rattled his head as paranoia and worry crawled to his senses. He stood up and returned to his chair as he looked at the vial… and the girl in question that was the source of those horrible visions.

He didn't want to see once more what the girl's future is. In fear of what this could mean for All Might. He needed to talk to him ASAP. He needed to talk to the girl as well and investigate this.

Because if he didn't… then that immutable future would happen.

Just as he was about to call Bubble Girl, the young woman in question barged in through the door without knocking. The door opened wide with a sudden slam as his other sidekick, Centipeder tried to calm the otherwise bewildered woman from something that was in need of his concern.

"SIR! There's a problem down in Aldera!" she said out aloud as she scrambled to get her tablet and show him what was happening. Nighteye wasn't able to speak at how sudden the events turned but he saw what was so concerning about Bubble Girl's entrance.

On the news was a live feed of All Might fighting a foe that was able to match him blow for blow. A small portion of the city was turning into a battle zone as the old man tried to minimize the damage and subdue the villain to no effect. The fight grew intense as Nighteye began to feel his heart racing.

"Have the local police and heroes responded yet?" he asked.

"Yes, but they fear that they may not be able to take down the villain since All Might himself is having difficulty."

Nighteye then decided at quick pace that he should help. The prior visions already cemented the that the old man was about to die someday, if those visions were to happen now then he had to do something about it.

"Bubble Girl I need you to come with me. We need to aid All Might in this. I fear that we've come across a series of events that require our assistance. Centipeder, I need you to hold the forth should things go south understood?" Both nodded in reply as the news feed continued to fill with how the fight was intensifying. NIghteye was about to leave when Bubble Girl received a sudden call from his phone.

She immediately paled as she looked at her boss.

"What is it?" Nighteye asked.

"Sir… it's from Lemillion, UA is under attack."

The quick turn of events in this scale made him freeze for a few short seconds. He then asked internally as to what the hell was happening, and were all of these events tied together?

Were the visions he saw connected with this too?

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 16

* * *

**AN: Yeah, this is a surprise haha. I did intend to do only one Sidestory before doing the finale which is Chapter 16, but I thought this little short event needed to take place first before Chapter 16 happens. I have reasons for it, and you will find out once I post Chapter 16. As to why the chapter is taking so long, I have to apologize for I am quite busy handling two stories, and frankly the plans for Chapter 16 are BIG. As in really BIG. Like I promised, the ending to the USJ event in this story will be radically different and will surely leave a big impact, most of all to Izumi. I'm not sure when the chapter will drop, as I am currently in the writing process while I'm posting this, so stay tuned. I can say that it could possibly be the longest chapter to date, with how much content I need to put in it to make the second arc of this fic's finale. This also means that the next arc will be vastly different before we tread our shoes into the Sport's Festival.**

**Also, thank you for yet another milestone guys. I know this a relatively a small fic, but I'm happy that you're still reading it. I'm excited for the next chapter and would wish to know your thoughts about it once it drops as the event would literally cause a huge change for Izumi in general moving forward.**

**Like always leave a review if possible and see you in the next Update. PM me if you have questions too. :)**


	31. XVI The Red Demon ACT 1

**AN: It's finally done! After so many revisions. After so many rewrites and writer's block problems, I have finally finished Chapter 16. Whew, that was hard to do. Haha. This came out like a behemoth with its size and length. So much so that I needed to break it into 3 acts to compensate the lengths for each part of the chapter. So Yeah, Triple Release to compensate for the wait.**

**It's been so much hardwork and if you ask my cowriter that the one that BETA'd this fic, we're both tired and happy that it's finished. I do hope you all like the ending to the events of the USJ here. Like I said, this came out differently and far more grander than an I anticipated when I started writing it.**

**The aftermath of this will be large as well. With so much plot threads coming out as consequences of mistakes and choices from chapter 1 all funnel into here. Leaving our protagonist in a rather disastrous and somber situation. I know this won't be perfect. I acknowledge that, but since we're here at another ending to the first fic I made, I'm happy that we got here again.**

**To my dear readers, I hope this was worth the wait and I hope you all like it. I took some risks within the story to push the plot further and I hope you read further within the next chapters to see what comes next. Especially since we're in the territory of S2 now! So I'm excited!**

**Lastly, since this is a behemoth of a chapter, along with its large conclusion, I decided to make 3 Sidestories after this, to better give you a clear view of what will happen next. **

**Without further ado, welcome to the conclusion of what I consider to be Volume 1 of the Fire Flower's Story. Enjoy and leave a review if possible. I'd like to hear what you think. :)**

* * *

XVI. The Red Demon

**PROLOGUE**

Hours Earlier…

"How's Izumi doing in class? I heard she was voted Class Rep." Nemuri Kayama said towards Shota Aizawa who was drinking a juice box with a straw. He managed to get something strawberry flavored that day and with his less than ideal sleep schedule this little bit of sugar intake would help with his daily activities. Nemuri on the other hand was drinking coffee as they both sat in the lunge room of the faculty. Some were up and about at that current time and some were busy with their breakfast they usually took within the lounge.

Nemuri, having no one to share her breakfast with in her apartment decided to eat at the school from that point on ever since Izumi and Inko moved out. She still talks to them frequently, the girl herself mostly before she left for home after dismissals. Inko and her usually talk as well but she was far too busy with a case right now that was needed to shed light upon Izumi's origin.

She had to admit even though she regularly saw them in campus. Everything for her felt lonely at this stage. Having to take care of Izumi back then became a staple part of her life ever since. So them being gone after everything that has happened made her quite somber in a way.

But at the very least she still saw Izumi frequently and was always there when something happened. She was aware that this week wasn't the best for the girl at all. Inko calling her about it multiple times during night made her worry, but in the end she was now proving herself to be the mother the girl needed after all this time.

Inko changed a long way ever since she first arrived in her home years back. The road was bumpy but with her help she managed to ultimately change the course of both their lives.

She was proud of it and best of all she was proud of Izumi.

She was no daughter of her, but Nemuri felt close to her like family. More so than ever than her own family who was quite disdainful for her choice of being a hero. Izumi was special to her and seeing her grow to this point, even with the weight of the truth behind it. She was still far prouder than any parent was when they see their children succeed.

Being a rather lonely person herself within her apartment, she loved having those two around.

It made her feel that she belonged to something again.

A family. The one thing she didn't know that she needed until they arrived.

"Aizawa?" she asked again after reminiscing her thoughts upon that subject.

"She's been doing fine Midnight." He said while sipping, annoyed with the frequent questions thrown at the girl's status. Like usual, Nemuri thought.

"That's it? No other compliment to how she's faring? Her ability to diffuse the situation in the cafeteria was nicely done all things considered." Nemuri said with a bit of pride over her special girl.

"I thought it was sloppy. Could have been handled differently." He replied with a bit of a deadpan tone within it. Nemuri smirked, truly enough ever since the girl got here, he wasn't really that enthusiastic against her. The reason partly could be that she was connected to Inko, the one thing that he still hasn't gotten over even now.

"She'll do great in that position." She whispered to herself.

Aizawa moaned in reply as he finished his juice box. He stood up and put his hands on his pockets.

"I hope so. But her problems controlling her own strength is going to be a major hiccup if she wants to continue being a pro." He said, more on thinking back at the setbacks the girl had with herself.

"I know." Nemuri replied.

"But I'll give her this… her will to never give up on anything will get her somewhere eventually." He said while not looking back at her. He then walked away leaving Nemuri in thought.

She had a small smile on her face as she looked at Aizawa leaving the lounge.

_Still acting tough. Even after all these years._

She sighed as she took out her phone. The wallpaper on her lockscreen was her and Izumi when they got the confirmation mail of her acceptance in UA.

She smiled at it while she thought of her girl.

Hoping dearly for today to be peaceful...

* * *

**ACT 1**

"Something on your mind Izumi?" Momo asked. The redhead girl looked to her right and saw the person sitting right next to her on the bus. Classes were to be resumed in a special field of the campus called the USJ, and she sat here with Momo all the way in the front of the school bus since they were the classroom's representatives. Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa stood next to the driver's seat of the bus as he focused his otherwise bored-looking demeanor towards the destination their vehicle was approaching. The rest of their classmates were in their seats talking with each other behind Momo and Izumi in a normal sense. The seating arrangement was fixed by Momo based on their surnames, although they were part of that seating arrangement, it was decided by Aizawa to exclude them since they were the ones he counted on for maintaining the class. This in turn made them to seat at the front while the others followed the seat plan behind them.

Everyone seemed cheerful and excited about this, as it was yet again another exercise that would test their capabilities and quirks to the next level. Izumi was happy to know that All Might was supposedly going to help this assignment as well, along with another pro hero that was determined to be a surprise by Aizawa (even though the level of 'surprise' to encourage their class was non-existent on his face).

Izumi on the other hand was deep in thought of today's class. While others were genuinely deep within their own conversations of either this upcoming exercise or another topic, Izumi was in all honesty thinking deeply with this new development. The reason being was that she was a bit cautious and worried that she could possibly lose control again or worse, maybe hurt somebody within her class. It was a scenario that she didn't want to happen again, much less hope for.

"I'm fine… just a bit cautious you know. Thinking a bit of what's going to happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited of course but I'm really worried about myself and most of all, you guys." She said to Momo, who took a second before understanding what she was trying to tell her.

"Oh. You're worried about that." She said with a low tone.

"Yeah. I don't want another repeat of the Battle Trials again. I know Shoto doesn't seem to mind that it happened, but a lot of people did point out that I nearly made him pass out. Not the most ideal thing for the class representative's image right?" Izumi said, the last sentence with a bit of dry humor in it. However, none of them laughed at it, both acknowledging that it was a serious dilemma on Izumi's part. Momo elbowed her to which the redhead simply blinked at her companion.

"What?"

"Cheer up. I'm sure everything will be alright. I mean, I can understand why you lost control that day. You did tell us you were in a slump at that time… maybe that's the reason why you lost control in the first place." Momo surmised. Izumi smiled at her.

"Hmm, the great Momo for the first time is holding on to a guess. I thought you believed in more 'evidence-based' theories rather than on the roll guesses." Izumi teased of which Momo giggled softly at.

"I don't claim to be the smartest Izumi, but I am confident with what I know and I'm quite sure that's the answer." Momo replied.

"On what basis bookie?" Izumi said with a smirk.

"By how much I trust you as a friend." Momo replied back with a smile. Izumi felt her heart feel a little better for a bit at that compliment. Meeting Momo for her was a godsend and the way she cheered her up was indicative of that.

"Thanks…" the redhead said in gratitude.

"You're welcome and I'm pretty sure that won't happen again. You did show Mr. Aizawa back in the first day of school that you can control your quirk enough to impress him." Momo whispered and as she did so, both of them heard a low groan coming off from their Homeroom teacher, who heard Momo saying that sentence.

As for Izumi, she did hope that it was the case. Maybe she wasn't stable emotionally during that time, making her quirk to go haywire in the worst way possible. Other than that, she just wanted a normal day at an exercise that didn't include anything bad or for something to go wrong. Maybe for once it would turn out like the first day, with a small injury or something at the end.

Izumi then shoved those thoughts away, instead focusing on something more positive. Mr. Aizawa did say that this would be yet another group excursion that demanded teamwork and a solid ground to test their skills in a hands-on approach. Focusing on those aspects would allow her yet again to further improve her abilities in working with a team on the field.

These thoughts in turn, allowed her to think straight and gave her a much positive approach with this entire situation. She did in fact started this day with a cheerful demeanor, and she didn't want negative thoughts to cloud that already great start.

"Oh, I never got to ask you before but why are you wearing your gym clothes?" Izumi said as she looked at Momo, whom like her wore the school's gym uniform in its primarily blue color.

"About that, so when I last saw you and our other classmates, I wanted to change my hero suit a bit, we can both agree that it left a bit of an impression with the rest of the class… especially the boys." Momo shamefully said as she thought about her old suit.

"So with the adjustments and other suggestions you and Sylvia gave me, I managed to come up with a suitable output and gave it to the school for the Support Course to create. I managed to trim down and add a few features to it, and I think it will come out rather nice when I finally get it." Momo explained as she recalled the design process of her new suit.

"That's cool, you should definitely show it to me once it's done. Maybe I can add a few add-ons with mine when the time comes."

"Isn't yours good enough though? You did leave a large impression on the whole class the minute you stepped out. Add the fact that you designed the whole thing yourself from scratch does make it impressive."

Izumi smirked. The suit was in fact a combination of her ideal hero suit, alongside input from the closest people in her life. For it to turn out into a cohesive, functional suit did surprise her as she was really nervous as to how it would actually turn out once she wore it. Thankfully, it didn't end terribly as she first thought, and people liked it.

"It's not a perfect design. There's still flaws to its overall composition, especially the cape. I think I should shorten it a bit more. Even though I like it, it doesn't really work in a practical sense when you think about my quirk in general." Izumi said as Momo tried to think as to why she thought of it that way.

After a few seconds, she seemed to get it.

"Oh… right, your quirk allows you to be really athletic and nimble. The cape will only do so much in a fashion sense rather than a necessity." Momo said as she recalled how Izumi fought within the few times she saw her in combat.

"Yeah, but I'll still keep it. It'll make me look heroic like All Might…" she said while imitating one of her mentor's signature poses.

They giggled at each other as Aizawa who was passive with the events inside the bus, began to whistle over the two to get their attention. He tapped his watch, making a gesture that they were close to the USJ and that they should ready their classmates.

Classmates whom were at this moment too noisy in the back to hear anything useful. Thankfully, the two had a solution to that problem, immediately after having a quick nod from Momo, Izumi stood up from her seat and looked at Tenya from his location where he was pre-emptively scolding Kaminari and Sero who were talking about something 'disgraceful and unbecoming' in his presence. Luckily he managed to see Izumi, who gestured him to keep everyone in check.

Being the guy he was, he jumped to it with much needed enthusiasm and walked towards the middle of the bus yelling out proper manners and conduct. A collective groan as well as few laughs were shared within the class, but for the most part the noise was mitigated.

"It was a smart move giving him authority over that. With him in his place, our voices won't drown out in the background." Momo stated, one with a small smile of relief over that situation. Izumi silently agreed as she looked outside the window with Tenya's voice filling up the bus while at it. Eventually their ride had pulled up to a large complex much like the other fields UA had within their campus grounds. This was different however, as the entire complex was covered by a dome and was significantly larger than the other Testing Grounds the school had. Izumi had heard about some of it when she once strolled inside the main campus building of UA back in the Entrance Exam. What she didn't expect was the sheer size and level the complex held and she wondered what this special lesson was about.

She looked at Aizawa the moment the bus halted in its place, the man sighed in relief as he looked at his watch yet again. He then turned himself towards his class, the somber mood on his face continuing still. The doors to the bus opened as he began to speak.

"We're here. Now file up outside in an orderly manner. I trust that you'll follow proper procedure and conduct as there will be a guest instructor as I told you. Along with All Might who will be joining us in a bit." At the word of a guest instructor along with All Might in one sentence, murmurs of excitement began to bubble amongst the majority of Class 1-A. Aizawa however was unfazed at their excitement. "I'm going to expect you all to be professional so don't act so childish nor immature. Like I reiterated in our first meeting, this is a place where you learn to be heroes. Not bigshots pretending to do this just for the fame and money. Lives are at stake and learning to save them is your biggest priority. Do we have that clear?" he said, his voice higher on those last few sentences.

Izumi and her class didn't say anything but they all agreed to that notion. Himiko was mostly quiet as Izumi last saw her. She was okay but she was thinking about something rather far too deep that it made her quiet on the majority of the trip.

As Izumi and Momo got out the bus, they both managed to help Tenya get the others in line as they exited one by one out of the vehicle. As they got out, Izumi pulled out her notebook from a sling bag she brought along and Momo did a headcount of everyone in class to check their attendance. Names were called out in each succession as Izumi checked the boxes one by one. Aizawa had gone out to meet up with their special guest inside the facility so he left the two in charge for a bit.

As Izumi began to call out the last few names on the list, a few of their classmates began talking with each other. Specifically, as to what this training exercise was and whoever the guest instructor is. A few of them had named out suggestions, namely heroes within the top 10 that were pretty popular with their jobs. The conversations were so full of life that the whole class was really enthusiastic about it. Even Katsuki, in his own form of socialization was mingling with Kirishima who was trying to argue with him about a certain topic about heroism. Izumi smiled as her classmates continued to talk. Once her attendance was finished, she and Momo joined the others in their conversations.

"Who do you think it is Izumi?" Uraraka said.

"Hmm… Mr. Aizawa didn't tell us both either. But I have a few guesses."

"Mind sharing it to us?" Kyouka said as Himiko beside her was teasing a frowning Kaminari who was being laughed at by his other friends.

"I think it'll be part of UA's staff most likely. My best guess is a combat-oriented hero based on the place we're going to train in. Don't quote me on that though, I'm not entirely sure as well." Izumi said, being unsure as well with who the mystery guest was. She thought at first that it was her aunt, but unfortunately in combat situations, Midnight was more suitable in subduing villains at the start of the fight. A prolonged engagement wasn't her forte, even though she was well-trained enough to supplement that weakness. Her mother would be out of the cards too. As good as she was, Izumi knew that it would be awkward. Unless…

That was the point. Since Inko seemed far too clingy and concerned for her lately that Izumi was a bit awkward in that subject. Thinking of it now unfortunately made her nervous. She could imagine the amount of awkward energy her mother will put out much like last time if that was the case.

She gulped in fear, hoping that sincerely speaking, it was not. Otherwise she may in fact die of shame in front of her classmates.

"Izumi?" Kyouka said as she noticed her change of expression.

"Don't tell us you're in that phase again." Tsuyu remarked.

"No! I'm not… I was just thinking about who the guest may be, and I'm nervous it's who I think it is." Izumi said as she tried to explain herself. Tenya had a questioning look on his face, and much like most of their classmates, they were wearing their hero suits with the exception of Izumi and Momo who were in their Gym wear.

"What do you mean? Why are you nervous?" Kirishima asked, with Bakugou beside him being silent but had his glare pointed at Izumi (like usual).

"Uh… I-I think it's better you all don't know…" Izumi said with a rapid red blush on her face.

In the middle of the class, suddenly a purple-haired boy managed to connect the dots.

"WAIT! Is your mom the guest instructor?" Mineta suddenly shouted.

"Is that true Izumi?" Uraraka asked in curiosity. To all of them, while the encounter was indeed awkward, meeting Izumi's mother Inko was a surprise they did not expect. She looked fairly kind and friendly while also being loving towards Izumi. Most of them found it cute, but they did in fact wonder why she would be the guest instructor in the first place.

"By the way, if you're worried about your mom being the guest instructor, is it because she's a teacher or a hero that the school hired for help?" Tsuyu asked. Sylvia nodded with the same question beside her, putting out hand signals that Izumi could understand mostly.

"I don't recall seeing her in the news. If she's as old as she is, she would have been known to the public at least." Toru added. Momo and Kyouka thought of the same, as they tried to piece together who Inko Midoriya was if she appeared at all in the news or something like that.

"What's her quirk Midoriya? Maybe we'll know her better if you tell us." Sero said.

"Oh you did tell us that she managed to beat a villain so fast you weren't able to see it clearly right? Does she have super speed then? Or super strength?" Sato asked.

"Maybe she has an energy based quirk? Like your lightning?" Kaminari suggested.

Question after question came as Izumi tried to answer them one by one.

"I don't really know much about my mom's line of work. She says she's a legal consultant on Hero Affairs abroad. That's why she was always gone from home back when I was little. Although when I did ask her again since she had so much mastery over her quirk that she did tell me that she was in fact a hero… and an undercover one much like Mr. Aizawa." Izumi explained.

"So she's into that secret spy business then? That sounds cool." Kirishima said.

"And hot…" Mineta added, earning a few glares from the class. Even the redhead girl managed.

"Anyway. What's her quirk again?" Kyouka asked.

"Oh, it's Telekinesis. An advanced form of I think. Mom doesn't tell me much about it, but I've seen her move things around her with little to no effort. A few amount of concentration was present, but she managed to lockdown and incapacitate that villain I mentioned just by standing there."

"Wow… that sounds, powerful." Tsuyu remarked.

"How strong was the villain? If that was the case, it would have been in the news if the guy was that strong to begin with." Sato asked.

"I don't remember exactly, but I think it was reported briefly in that scuffle Kami Woods and Mt. Lady had with the… absorption gang I think? The villains with the absorption abilities. I didn't write my notes on them that night as me and my mom were busy with something. However, I do think the villain we encountered was the one that can absorb any solid surface and reconstitute it to make his entire body into the same material."

Even though Izumi's explanation was a bit over the top like how excited she is with Quirks, the entire class still grasped what she meant, and they were quite surprised at it.

"You mean to say your mom handled that guy easily… the same guy that gave a problem to DeathArms, Kami Woods, and Mt. Lady altogether? H-How?" Kaminari said with a very shocked expression on his face.

"Is that even a question… she's already that strong, so her mother is obviously strong doofus." Kyouka retorted as the whole class laughed at the news. Although some of them couldn't believe entirely what Izumi had said as the Inko Midoriya they saw was nonetheless… very harmless at point blank when judged by the surface.

"She sounds hotter already…" Mineta whispered to himself, not knowing that there were others who were watching his perverted remark.

"That would be cool though, if she was indeed the guest. Can't wait to see how good she really is." Uraraka said. Momo then turned to Himiko who was noticeably quiet the whole time.

"You've met Mrs. Midoriya right Himiko? How was she?" Momo asked, the blonde girl blinked at the sudden question but managed to give out a smile before replying back.

"Well, she was very kind. I bumped into her in a café a while back. She's nice." She said.

"I was surprised mom never told me about it, I only caught wind of it when you came to visit at my house." Izumi added, trying to make the blonde girl laugh, but instead she only got a meek smile before turning away and returning herself to silence. Izumi felt suspicious at that as her classmates continued to talk to each other until Mr. Aizawa came with a displeased but indifferent expression.

Tenya easily quieted the class however, as they saw their homeroom teacher frowning at them.

With a sigh, the bored looking teacher lead them inside the facility of the USJ in silence. Excited tones and phrases were spread amongst them as the class entered one by one. Izumi on the other hand while mesmerized by the sights before her in this large complex separated into numerous different zones; she was still nervous that the instructor will be her mother.

"Hello there, Class 1-A! I've been waiting for you." a voice called out, answering Izumi and the Class' question on who it was and luckily for the redhead, it was not who she expected it was.

It was someone better than she expected. Someone she knew really well in her research.

The Space Hero, Thirteen herself. One of Izumi's favorites when it came to Quirks, as this hero in particular had a very interesting set of abilities that made her very curious and interested back when she was a child.

"I-it's her! Holy crap! It's her!" she shouted out in excitement, a thing that most of the class was on board with. Even Izumi's fangirling was overshadowed by the amazement her classmates were having towards the Space Hero herself. Numerous amounts of praise and cheerful statements were thrown at Thirteen as the teacher herself found it a bit too much, although she appreciated the sentiments wholeheartedly. She herself was excited, to finally teach and see the 'Special Girl' firsthand, and seeing her reaction with her enthusiasm made the hero happy as well. She was one of the few that was very much inclined in agreement to take the kid into UA and after hearing some mostly good news from Aizawa within her class' standing, the girl was on point to be a good hero someday. Much like everybody in this class. The new generation sure was pumped.

"She's one of my favorite heroes!" Uraraka said out aloud.

"I know right? I can't believe she's the one going to teach us!" Izumi added as she cheered, with Thirteen trying to calm down her small audience. However, as soon as Izumi looked behind her back, her expression changed to that of concern when she saw Himiko, looking scared and fearful. They met eyes for the briefest of moments, and unlike usual when she smiles at her regardless of what circumstance, dread was instead on her face. Full… unflinching dread.

Suddenly Izumi felt worried as to why she looked like that, but she was interrupted when Aizawa made them all shut up to let Thirteen speak after a brief introduction of herself and her quirk.

"Now that it's settled, I can't wait to show you all what's in store for today." Thirteen presented as the eyes of the whole class took in the view in front of them. The entire complex was vast and Thirteen proudly presented each and every one of them with much enthusiasm and grace.

"- I created this training facility to prepare students of the hero course on every type of known disasters. I call it, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! Or by short, the USJ."

While as amazing as the whole place was, most of them seemed to still agree that the place's acronym sounded a lot like a famous amusement park. Even the premise was also the same, although this was made to be a simulation training course.

Tenya then suddenly raised his hand after the introductions. Aizawa and Thirteen heeded his question afterwards.

"What is it?" Aizawa said.

"Um sir… you said All Might will be here to help with the exercise. I was just asking where he was if he is indeed going to join us." He politely asked.

Aizawa turned to Thirteen as she was the one notified first of the small delay All Might needed to procure. With a short glance from the two of them, Aizawa instantly understood that it was something important. Before he could explain it to the class, the hero Thirteen beat him to it.

"He will be joining us shortly, he still had matters to attend to and while we're at it, expect him to arrive soon and I have no doubt he'll be impressed at your work. Should you in fact be as effective as a team like in the Battle Trials. I've heard a lot about you kids, and while my enthusiasm in your skill is a bit cautious being that you're all new to this, I have no doubt you'll do your best to impress us. Right, Aizawa?" Thirteen cheekily commented at the end.

"Sure." The man said with a very noticeable groan.

Izumi expected this, after all she did see her mother and All Might preparing to leave the moment she left for school that day. She wondered what the two were up to as they never said anything to her. However, it seemed likely that the two had official business to tackle and All Might would join them later that day so it wasn't a truly bad concept to begin with.

"Now excuse me and Mr. Aizawa for a moment so that we can prepare for your starting exercise." Thirteen then said as he ushered in Aizawa who looked confused for a moment but decided to play along. Leaving Izumi and the rest of the class to their own for a moment as they excitedly talked about the simulations they were about be in. Some were even hoping to be partnered up again in teams, Mina in particular went to Izumi's side as they began to talk about it.

Yet Izumi could not think straight still, after seeing Himiko yet again being silent by herself.

As that happened, the two teachers talked to each other by themselves a few meters away from the students. The topic in question was that of All Might's delay.

"What do you know?" Aizawa said.

"The girl's mother and All Might found a lead, Midnight told me it could help in whoever was responsible for the girl's price on her head during that night."

"I'm assuming they're heading there now. Is it a person?"

"According to Midnight yes, although the circumstance of their discovery does offer a few suspicions." She replied with a troubled tone.

"I agree. Let's keep to the schedule otherwise. We don't want to cause confusion amongst the class. That's the last thing we want right now." Aizawa said as they began to walk back to the students. While they walked back, a certain blonde girl kept looking around the USJ, eyes full of worry and dread that seemed to permeate as time continued to pass. Beside her, Kyouka and Toru notice her expression and are utterly confused by it.

"What is it Himiko? Are you feeling okay?"

The blonde girl doesn't reply as she stares at them briefly before turning her attention back to Izumi who was busy talking with the others. Sylvia watches in the sidelines, sensing that there was something wrong as Kyouka and Tsuyu try to ask the blonde girl yet again.

Seeing that the girl was being suspicious, she tried to communicate with her Nemain through the secure channel they shared. However, she found out that something was wrong. There was no connection. As much as she tried, she couldn't get through to her partner. This made her feel concerned as this secure channel was not hindered by normal networking and connection lines. Quickly after that, she created a scanner-like device upon her eyes that looked like glasses of some sort. She quickly scanned the entirety of the USJ's complex…

And disturbingly, all the security systems were off. As if someone was sealing them away from asking help directly towards the main campus. Her heart's pace doubled as she saw her classmates unaware, and with such circumstances she deemed that something was about to happen she needed to warn Izumi about it.

"All right, we'll be pitching you into separate teams again much like your sessions with All Might. This time however, your partners will be different and will be selected based on how well your abilities complement each other in rescue situations. Me and Thirteen will supervise with each team as we send you on your designated zones of our choosing." Aizawa explained.

"This will help you cooperate not just in combat situations as a team but also to work together on conditions that require you to both handle villains and save innocent lives in the process. This is one of the core ideals on being a hero and developing it is a prime directive of this school." Thirteen added, but as the class continued to listen, everything went silent when a sudden sound of someone clapping was heard in the distance.

A figure, robed in pure black with sets of hands placed all across his body along with his face walked towards them while he continued to clap. His demeanor was that of a pleased individual who had all his cards on the table. Ready to strike the killing the blow with each step he took.

The two teachers felt on edge when they saw the person walking towards them without any traces of fear, even though he was outnumbered. Same can be said to the entirety of Class 1-A who was on all accounts, confused and scared at the same time.

"A fine set of wisdom… such a benefit to the younger generation and quite interesting to point out my dear heroes. It's the only ideal that I do admire from your ilk. The concept of teamwork and working together. A child playing a game alone against a team isn't a likely outcome of victory after all, but one who plays his cards well with the right help does. So maybe a few thanks are to be given towards you people… as much as I loathe your existences."

The statement made everyone's skin crawl. His voice, his tone, and the way he spoke it through a muffled sound from the hand that was covering his face was disturbing. Even Aizawa and Thirteen felt intimidated as the figure stopped midway towards them. His arms having finished their solemn and mocking action towards them both. His movements were methodical, slow, and had an air to them that signaled something sinister. Even Izumi was taken back at the sight and Sylvia's concerns were now brought to reality. Something was indeed going to happen.

And it won't be pleasant.

"Who are you?" Aizawa said with a heightened tone to his voice. The scarf around his neck untangled around him and moved in a motion that readied himself. Thirteen held out her other hand towards the class to protect them behind her as the standoff continued.

"Why is that important… Mr. Eraserhead? Or should I call you Shota Aizawa?" the mystery person said with a taunting tone in his voice. Not a few know of Aizawa's real name aside for the brief mentions of Eraserhead in the media, so for this person to know of his identity was concerning.

"I said… who the hell are you. Talk now or I'll make sure you don't walk again." Aizawa threatened.

"Oh, that didn't sound so heroic. I thought you heroes are like All Might. Then again, you're all frauds to begin with." He said as he took one step further. Aizawa's Quirk flared up towards him as the mysterious person smiled underneath his very disturbing choice of face wear.

"So this is what it feels like. Charming…" as he said this the scarf surrounding Aizawa shot up and wrapped the person in place. Tightly and securely, but he didn't seem to mind it, nor was he planning to bust out. He merely watched as Izumi and her classmates felt the dread ebb into greater heights than ever before in their lives.

"Thirteen, get the class out, I'll handle this!" Aizawa shouted but before the whole class could move, the person bound to Aizawa's scarf smiled…

"Now, now… where's the fun in quitting a match that's already started?" he ominously said.

**BWOOOOSHH!**

An explosion triggered a thick hail of smoke that spread across the entire area they were in. Visibility was ramping up on being non-existent as the smog began to spread further. The entire class was in disarray with Izumi having the feeling of terror etched on her face.

"Thirteen! Get them out now!" Aizawa shouted.

Izumi then moved into the action as soon as Aizawa said that as the smog continued to fester. She grabbed Momo towards her by the arm and spoke:

"Hold my hand!" she then looked around her, activating her vision sense as the colored signatures of her classmates came into view. Her headband glowing bright in red. "EVERYONE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, HUDDLE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER SO I CAN GRAB YOU! SERO! DO THE SAME AS WELL!" Izumi screamed.

"On it!" she heard Sero's voice throughout the smog as the rest of her classmates shouted to Izumi in confirmation. Momo nodded at her as she drew out Black Whip amongst her classmates, with Sero doing the same.

"Everyone! DUCK! THERE'S A-" they suddenly heard Thirteen scream, but it was too late.

**BANG!**

A stray bullet amidst the fog was speeding towards Izumi herself, about to hit her shoulder in a few seconds. She saw it with her vision sense in time, and was about to dodge it, until a person jumped in front of her and took the bullet into her chest.

The impact knocked that person towards Izumi and in the midst of this she fell on the ground with Momo holding her hand. This stopped her from activating Black Whip fully, making her plan fail at the last moment.

"IZUMI!" someone screamed in the fog.

"HIMIKO! I can't see Himiko! Where is she?" she then heard Kyouka scream.

"DEKU! Where are you?" she heard Katsuki scream.

"Everybody Take cover! There's a shooter in the smoke! Thirteen, get rid of smoke so we can see." Another voice said. Izumi heard screams when gunshots further roared into the smoke. Izumi's vision was turned off when she was knocked out but as she got her bearings, she now saw who took the shot for her.

"Oh my God…" she heard Momo say as blood was slowly pooling within the area around them both.

Izumi's eyes were widened when she saw who the person was as the screams in the background continued. Himiko's eyes were staring directly at her, with an expression of fear and guilt upon her face. The gunshot hit her somewhere in her chest…

And she was losing a lot of blood in the process.

"I-Izumi…" She weakly said as her body slowly went limp. Izumi was motionless for a second, before objectively moving in motion once the reality of the situation took hold of her. She sat up and held Himiko close looking at the wound on her chest. Blood was flowing out, and she knew that if this wasn't treated, she would die on that spot.

"Where is she shot?" Momo said in panic as she tried to calm herself, lifting her gym clothes partially by the waist to create first-aid equipment to try and treat their classmate. Izumi was speechless the entire time as her eyes were solely fixed on Himiko, whom was rapidly declining from her conscious state. A bloody hand from Izumi clasped her best friend's hand as shock was still permeating on her face.

Gunshots were still roaring overhead as each bullet seemed to pass between them as Momo flinching her head slightly in reflex for fear of being hit. Izumi never moved as Himiko smiled at her weakly as the redhead sat there on the spot.

"Izumi! You need to focus!" Momo said as she put a hand on her shoulder. Izumi turned her head slightly looking at her for the briefest of moments as Momo understood that she was still in shock. Thinking that it was now down to her, she looked into the smoke of which was now filled with chaos as laughter, confused screams, wails for help, as well as other occurrences seemed to happen within the chaos. The initial plan had to be changed.

"Tenya! Can you hear me?" Momo shouted.

A beam of yellow energy glowed as Momo and Izumi heard Aizawa grunting and within the smoke. There wasn't just one villain, there were more of them, and they were preoccupying the heroes too much for them to help the class.

"TENYA!" she shouted again.

"I hear you Yaoyorozu! But the others are scattered, someone's pulling everyone apart from each other!" Tenya said inside the smoke as Momo began to cough, all the while as she tried to apply pressure in Himiko's wound who was currently grunting in pain. Izumi was still not responding normally.

"Follow my voice! Himiko's been shot. We need to get her out of here!"

"I'm trying!" they heard Tenya say as the chaos continued.

Momo then turned to Izumi.

"Izumi! Listen to me! I know this is hard for you but we need you! We need your quirk or else everyone is going to end up like this." She said into Izumi's face.

"Izumi!" Momo said again. The redhead girl then nodded as her eyes turned red and her headband glowed. She looked at their situation again within the smoke as her vision adjusted. Emotions, emotions needed to take a backseat in situations like this, otherwise as Momo said, everyone will die if she didn't act accordingly. Himiko would be safe. She had to trust Momo and her classmates.

As she looked around with the situation they were in, she noticed six individuals moving into frame within her vision sense. Six new individuals, who were employing surgical attacks within the smoke towards mostly Aizawa and Thirteen who were holding them back as best they can. Others were harassing their classmates one by one distilling chaos amongst them. She surveyed around for a target, the one who was causing the smoke, and to her fortune and anger, she saw in the middle of it all an individual whom the smoke was originating from and one that had a rifle in hand.

Gritting her teeth over the injury of her friend, Izumi looked at Momo.

"Keep her stable." She ordered as she looked at her target dead ahead.

"Tenya! I'm throwing out a line towards you! Grab it as soon as you see it! The rest of you huddle up closer again and Sero! Throw out your tape as far as you can on every direction like earlier, and the rest of you grab on to it!" Momo looked concerned at what Izumi was about to do.

"Wait, where are you going? Izumi?" Momo worriedly said.

"To clear a path." She said as she threw Black Whip from her position towards the individual with the smoke quirk. The tendrils of black energy quickly wrapped up the person within seconds. He struggled for a moment but with the amplified strength given by her quirk and Black Whip itself, she managed to reel in the grown man tightly. With the binds holding in place, she sent a surge of electricity towards the target stunning him in place. She felt his quirk slowly dying down as she moved her other hand and threw a line towards Tenya's position. While at it, she needed to inform the two heroes.

"Mr. Aizawa! I got the one causing the smoke!"

She saw their homeroom teacher trying to hold back someone with a hardening type of quirk? No, this was different than Kirishima's in some form as she felt another thing odd about it.

"Thirteen! We need vision now!"

"Agh- I-I'm on it!" Thirteen said as she opened the ports on her hands deployed her ever famous quirk. As soon as this happened, she felt Tenya finally grabbing the line she threw at him as she guided him closer to evacuate Himiko. Meanwhile, Momo was working on her as best she can but time was at the essence here. They needed to leave this place, all of them, as handling villains that were coordinated as a team was not a thing she would put in a likely and easy place at all. She didn't want to leave Aizawa and Thirteen here, as they would be overwhelmed, or worse… killed.

"I'm almost there!" Tenya shouted.

"Midoriya! We got most of everyone here on our end, there's others still in the smoke but we're trying to get them" She heard Kirishima say.

"Deku! Get Blondie out, we're holding some of these fuckers back!" Katsuki screamed.

The smoke was dissipating quickly and vision was coming back to them, Izumi saw the incapacitated person she stunned earlier along with Thirteen drawing the smoke with her quirk, clearing out the smog in the process. Everything was clearer now for a moment. She saw Himiko hanging by a loose thread with Momo beside her, along with her classmates in one corner grabbing on to Sero's tape. Then she saw Katsuki, Kirishima, Shoto, and Shouji along with a few others, trying to hold back two individuals one of whom had energy spheres and the other who fired a beam of superheated spectrum light.

Tenya arrived the moment she turned her attention to him as Izumi drew back Black Whip into her. Easily as they can, they slowly lifted the blonde girl into Tenya's arms as she groaned in pain. Halfway to that, one of the villains were in pursuit towards their location. A tanned-skin woman holding the energy spheres came upon them with one of her attacks readied and was about to hit them with one at point blank. Izumi quickly shielded Tenya's back by raising Black Whip to intercept the energy sphere, only for it to phase slightly through the energy whips and into Izumi's arms.

"AAARRRGHH!" she yelled as she ignited her own red energy through her arms to hold the damn sphere back, the energy sphere was eating away at her skin slightly by sheer force and friction at such high speeds. With only her energy being the boon to protect her hands from being completely burnt off. The woman readied another sphere to throw at her direction as Momo and Tenya watched.

"Midoriya!"

"RUN! ARRGHH… G-Get her out of here!" she screamed back as the woman threw another one of the spheres towards her face with a smile. Izumi gritted her teeth as she surged enough energy into her body, her headband flaring in a deadly glow of red as the device itself was barely keeping her power levels in with the intensity she was experiencing.

Bleeding through her palms, Izumi slightly pushed back the unwavering force thrown at her. She caught the other sphere in a split second as she felt herself being overwhelmed. As this happened, the sphere's forces intensified and was about to break her hold on them, until an explosion occurred.

Just as that happened, the spheres vanished in an instant. Relieving Izumi over the pain on her hands. She then saw Katsuki tried to blow the woman away with each punch trying to push her back. However, as effective as he was in driving back the opponent, his explosions were not hitting her directly. Like a field of sorts were stopping his explosions short.

"Everyone, DUCK!" Aizawa shouted when the man with the spectrum beam quirk fired across multiple directions. The class did as they said, with Tenya ducking as he protected Himiko in his arms, Izumi jumped to cover Momo and the rest did the same. Mina screamed in fear when one of the beams almost hit her arm, luckily Sato was able to grab her with Sero's tape which was latched on her.

Seeing an opening, Aizawa leapt and kneed the villain away as he activated his quirk when another villain tried to take a shot at him. Thirteen ran to the students as Katsuki and Shoto pushed the energy spheroid villain back with their quirks. In the middle of it all, the one who first appeared in the facility watched with hands on his back. Seemingly pleased at the outcome of the preceding events.

Thirteen stood in front of the class as one of the villains was about to pursue Sero's group. In a short flash, they suddenly see the person smile as he aimed his hands towards them. Within a second, a wave of uncomfortably high temperature washed over the class. Anything solid heated instantly and Thirteen's suit suddenly flared up with small fires upon her arms.

The sudden jump in temperature was the work of Microwave rays being shot out by that person. They couldn't see it clearly through the lens of visible light, but the distortion of everything around him was an indication.

Thankfully, a certain ice-wielding boy of Class 1-A sent a surge of Ice and Cold towards the man's direction and encased him in it. The heat quickly died down and managed to ease the rest of the class and Thirteen. But the battle still raged on and as Tenya recovered from the beam attack, he raced towards the exit carrying Himiko in his arms.

Izumi and Momo sat up from their confines as they watched Aizawa able to overpower and manage on his own against multiple opponents at once. They were both amazed at it as they saw that at the very least there was a chance of them winning. With her other classmates fending the other villains off, it felt like they could survive the battle.

Until swirling portals appeared all across the place.

"Ah… good timing Kurogiri. Now, this is where the real fun begins."

As soon as he said that, the entire situation worsened.

First, as Tenya was about to reach the exit, a portal appeared, and long white strands of hair that were as tough as steel fibers grabbed on to Tenya's feet in seconds, much like Izumi's own Black Whip and in one swift maneuver, managed to break both his legs with a snap.

**CRACK!**

"AAAGGH!" he yelled in pain as Izumi and the others watched in shock.

Himiko, barely conscious at the moment saw the white hair entangled on her rescuer's legs and she flipped them both in mid-air with what little strength she had so that when they crash on the ground, there was less force upon impact. She was successful but they both landed on the ground with her situation worsening as blood continued to come out of her wound. Tenya, even with the pain on his legs could not accept that he couldn't move then and there. Especially since he sees Himiko close to death in front of him.

"NO!" Aizawa yelled as rage began to fuel his body.

"AAAAHHH! HELP ME!" Toru screamed as the portals that manifested around the class was grabbing them one by one. Toru was trying to pull Tokoyami away from the pull of the portal next to them, but he was dragged in even with Dark Shadow's strength. Multiple other portals appeared within the vicinity of their classmates, one of them was next to Kirishima of which was near Izumi, she threw a line across towards him but wasn't as fast to react when the others were sucked in.

"DEKU! THROW ME A LINE!" Katsuki shouted, but he was sucked in while cursing before Izumi could react in time. Shoto, Sylvia, Sero, Kyouka, Kaminari, Shouji, Mina, and Satou were also sucked in with their classmates barely able to help them. Seeing all of it take place made the redhead girl furious, and even with her bleeding and painful hands, she put all her strength on Kirishima from being pulled into one of the portals. With her strength waning rapidly, Momo created a grenade with her quirk and threw it into the portal. She then grabbed Izumi and Kirishima with as much strength as she could muster and moved them slightly before an explosion occurred. Closing the portal with it.

**BOOM!**

"Thanks." Kirishima said towards Izumi who was sprawled on his chest. They both blushed for a moment until they saw their teacher Mr. Aizawa finally subdued with three of the villains holding him tight. His specialized gear upon his eyes was broken and while he was bleeding, his resolve to fight back wasn't out yet. However, he couldn't fight back in his situation as the tide turned to the villain's favor.

From the chaotic skirmishes from earlier came to a menacing stop.

As everything went standstill. The portals were gone. Their classmates that were taken were gone. Thirteen and Aizawa were outmatched by the numerical superiority of the group. Even if they could attack, there was one problem…

The fight turned into a hostage situation when the villain with the powerful hair strand quirk was holding down an injured Tenya by the neck and a shot Himiko with one of the tips of her strands turning to a steel fiber that could pierce her chest easily.

Even those of their classmates that remained stood still in shock.

With one action or one move from Aizawa or from anyone in the class, Tenya and Himiko would die. Izumi along with everyone present felt that consequence heavily as they saw the stillness as it continued. Izumi watched in pain as Tenya was tearing up trying to hold back his screams. Trying to be brave for his classmate that was slowly bleeding out next to him. Himiko's eyes were drooping deeply with a weakened look towards her.

But as much as she could try and fight this threat off, she knew there was a small chance of victory.

She gritted her teeth in rage inwardly as she looked back at the person that they all assumed to be the leader of the group that did this attack. The person wearing dark clothes and hands being placed all across his body and face. His long lanky arms and pale skin made their morale far more low as he approached them slightly. The one with the smoke quirk got to his feet, and another individual appeared behind their leader. An ethereal looking person that created the portals earlier. He stood by in wait as the silence continued.

"That took longer than I expected, but you are U.A. students after all. Which is why we had to prepare for this moment down to the very last detail. We've eliminated the threats across the board here. Those with abilities that can potentially harm the outcome of this plan." He then looked at Izumi for a few seconds before continuing. He smiled inwardly before returning his attention to Thirteen who was in front of the remnants of Class 1-A and then to Aizawa who was trying to get out of the holds he was in. "Before you all ask where my friend Kurogiri took them, I can promise you all one thing and that is they are alive. But to what extent, I'm not entirely sure yet."

"WHAT?" Aizawa shouted in response.

"The children, what do you mean by that villain?" Thirteen angrily asked.

"It's simple. Much like you all here, they are bound to a particular limit of time. As to how they're going to survive a full fifteen minutes is debatable at best. There could be stragglers that would live, but for all of them to live is unlikely to happen unless the terms we want to bargain for is accepted and given in favor of their survival." He responded.

"What terms are you talking about?" Thirteen said.

The villain looked at Thirteen for a second and looked at Izumi's classmates behind her.

"Do you seriously think we've only come here to quote and unquote: wreck some mayhem and maybe destroy what there is inside this of this school? Perhaps kill a few students within the chaos?" he laughs at it as he sees Aizawa again and back to Izumi. "We're here for something much, much more than that. A means to an end that would liberate the world from the concept of heroes, and the frauds you are to the world."

"All Might isn't here! Even if he was, he would surely beat all of you!" Izumi suddenly said in anger. Aizawa and Thirteen looked at her, and within their heads they knew at that very moment that this wasn't about All Might, as the villains were specifically looking at her.

A wave of terror came upon their senses.

"Thirteen! You need to get them all out now! We'll worry about the others late-AGH!" a punch from one of the villains that could create fields of pure hot microwave rays managed to silence him at that moment. Thirteen couldn't move as she saw within their backs was the hostage-stricken Tenya and Himiko.

"The comms are down Aizawa! Even if I can get them out, those two might get hurt or worse in the process!" she replied as she tried to think of a plan.

"Oh, you both are getting the whole picture now huh? Good on your part, as for your students. I pity their negligence and stupidity." He then looked at Izumi yet again. "Except for you… I think you understand why everyone's eyes within my league of villains is directed on you. You are… _**special after all.**_" Izumi looked in horror and confusion as the villains looked at her.

Momo held Izumi's hand who was shaking towards the events they were seeing.

"Anyway, to continue with our so called 'evil plan', I do think you understand why we had to remove pieces off this chessboard. Like I said earlier, this plan was thought of in the most precise detail as possible, and that included us learning each and every one of you within this class… and the teachers that taught you within a week. We've studied you comprehensively. Your quirks, your personalities, and your behavior closely. So in order to make this deal easier and less in difficulty as possible. We had to eliminate the strays that pose a threat to us. Leaving the very few in this class that are easier to overcome." He said as he looked over the remaining students of Class 1-A within the place. True enough, they did take out those who had significant, volatile quirks from their class. Leaving only a few of them that were capable, Izumi included.

"We never really expected for you all to act like that so, your speedster friend over there was crippled. Oh well, plans change after all. That's no different. Besides, it gives us more leverage to make this easier for us… wouldn't you agree Izumi Midoriya?"

Izumi flinched when her name was called out.

"I-I won't accept to your terms or agree to it! Even if I did, you'd still kill us if you had the chance to!" she spat back.

"Fiesty… are you sure you won't agree to us?"

**CRACK!**

"AAAAGHHH!" Tenya screamed. The binds holding him broke his femur like a twig.

"Stop it, Damn it! Leave them alone!" Thirteen yelled, but was not heeded when the villains merely looked at them.

"That was a warning little girl. A warning, your friends over there will die if you as so much disagree with me. This goes for your friends who were taken as well. A clock is already ticking on their end. Within each second the assuredness of their survival becomes slimmer and slimmer by the forethought."

"You wouldn't." she angrily replied as red energy coursed through her veins and her headband glowed brightly in red with jolts of lightning sparking above. Even Momo was forced to back off from the surge as they saw Izumi's eyes blaze in red.

"Oh… come now. Don't be so violent. You make a move with us and I'm sure… someone will die. In fact, everyone you care about in this very area will die should you make any move against us."

She looked around and saw that it was true. She calmed down for a moment, since she had no choice to begin with.

"Midoriya! Don't listen to what he says. Get your classmates out of here! That's a direct order!" Aizawa said as he gained some strength through the adrenaline rush coursing in his veins. It was not yet enough to release of him their holds, but everyone was on edge with the villains waiting for any move that will spiral into one of her classmates dying in front of her.

"You get it now do you? The situation you're in. Should your choices lead you to this path. I will make sure that you remember it Izumi and blood will be on your hands."

With an angry and sad expression of seeing all of those she valued in danger, she shouted at him with as much anger as she could.

"What do you want damn it?!"

"I thought that was obvious… it's you." He immediately replied.

"Midoriya! Don't give him the satisfaction of talking. Stop replying to him!" Thirteen said.

"Your abilities are very interesting… we've been trying to get you for some time now, but All Might's presence and your mother's was an obstacle. An obstacle that's clearly being worked on right now."

Izumi paled when she heard those words. What did they mean, she thought to herself.

"W-what?"

"Now that it's settled. We only want you to come with us Midoriya. Simple as that and nobody dies. You come with us, I'll make sure Kurogiri takes your 'friends' back to your campus so that their injuries will be healed. This will also give you the satisfaction of sparing your friends and teachers at this very moment." He offered with hands outstretched.

Izumi looked at him for a second seeing that there was no way out of this.

But she didn't want to agree with their terms either.

With hands clenching into fists she heavily sighed from where she was standing.

"Izumi?" Momo whispered beside her, afraid that she will succumb to their deal. Kirishima was there as well and was afraid of that circumstance as the villains continued to watch.

"So? What will it be?"

Izumi stared directly into his eyes.

"Screw you."

With that one sentence, she removed her headband…

And a surge of power erupted from where she stood. Completely blinding everyone around her in an intense surge of red energy.

**KKKKRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZTTTT!**

Aizawa and Thirteen panicked when this occurred, but they noticed something strange. Everyone within the vicinity of those close to Izumi struck by the flash of light felt something different.

Suddenly the hairs holding Tenya and Himiko fell off with their strength.

Aizawa's bonds were weakened, and everyone…

Seemingly lost their quirks at that very moment.

When the light cleared out, Izumi stood where she was, her gym clothes scorching by each of its ends and her hair in a bright and color of blood-red with lightning sparking out of it in larger quantities. Her eyes were purely that of crimson and her body radiated a force so strong that objects seemed to levitate slightly around her. She angrily looked at where her opponent was, only to find that he vanished…

And reappeared a few seconds later with the warp gate quirk user.

However, everything stopped entirely when they saw her. With that much power in her hands at that moment, where she was barely conscious and in control of her rage.

The leader of the villains laughed.

"You really are something else! Haha… I never expected this at all, but it's a welcome addition nonetheless." He said as Izumi angrily snarled at him.

"I warned you of your friends dying Izumi Midoriya… and since I've seen enough. I think it's time you met a friend of ours."

Izumi was about to attack them, but another portal appeared behind him…

And out of it came something else entirely.

Something sinister… and stronger than anyone in the room there could combined.

A large figure with a behemoth build of muscle stood there behind him. With skin as crimson red as Izumi's hair. A skull-like face with eyes pure of hatred… and horns radiating a familiar red energy…

An energy that was almost the same as hers.

It was twice their size and was looking down at Izumi, enveloping her within a large shadow.

"Nomu… meet the origin of your DNA." The villain said, much to the shock of everyone present. Most of all towards Aizawa's and Thirteen's. Izumi paled on that spot, her display of power earlier was completely invalidated. Her eyes returned to normalcy as she looked at what was there in front of her.

A thousand questions were in her head at that moment…

But she knew that when they brought this monstrosity in, they were all dead unless she made a difference. Gulping in fear at their situation…

She did not know if she could fight it head on and win.

_**Mom… All Might. W-Where are you?**_

**END OF ACT 1**


	32. XVI The Red Demon ACT 2

XVI. The Red Demon

* * *

**ACT 2**

11:26 Hours, City of Aldera…

"Come at me you son of a bitch!" Inko screamed as she opened her lighter and out came a blaze of fire towards the lunging opponent. She dodged in time for it crash behind a table behind her but as much as its skin was seemingly singed from the initial attack, it didn't seem fazed as its serrated teeth growled at her as it rose up again from the remains of where it crashed on.

It made a noise from its mouth that sounded like something gurgling. She didn't understand what it was, and was confused if this person was either drugged or something as his eyes were dilated and were heavily focused on her like an animal ready to devour its prey.

While it wasn't full-proof from the incendiary attack she threw at it, a patch of its skin was still singed off and its body language seemed to register quite a bit of pain from those two attacks she did. Meaning that its skin wasn't that thick to breach it with something strong enough. However, she lacked the necessary strength to actually puncture it without her quirk, and while she was physically fit she wasn't at the same age and strength level to go blow for blow with it head on unlike Toshinori who had another problem in his hands with a guy looking like this as well.

It did show a very prominent weakness. One that she wanted to exploit really well. The skull-like face with serrated teeth on it was visibly not concealing the brain atop its head. The fleshy organ was atop it, and Inko could see it clearly by detail. Of course, there was many variables to consider if it was that easy since this fight would not be initiated if there was-

"RAAAARRRRGGHH!"

Doing the same maneuver over, her opponent was trying to go for her neck again and she was able to dodge narrowly, until her hair was caught in the process.

_Damn it, I should have tied it. Fuck-_

She yelped when he tugged at her hair and threw her to the next wall. She crashed on a wooden wall next to the room inside this apartment. Pieces of debris flew everywhere and her back started to hurt. She wasn't as durable as most people, because it was compensated with her quirk. But now having that removed from the fight and only her limited pyrokinetic control in the process, she was unsure if she could keep it away in a straight up engagement.

Trying to recover quickly from her blunder, she saw it about to hurl a fist towards her face. Inko tried to divert the punch by putting her left arm out. A large hole was punched open next to her head. The contact of her arm from diverting the punch resulted in a bruise and without hesitation, her opponent threw another punch towards her way.

Without having any choice for that matter she slid herself down the ground as the punch connected and dust was blown into her face. She was blinded for a second, but she managed to use both her legs and kicked her opponent's right leg, making him imbalanced. Coughing while doing so, she grabbed the other leg with her arms and pushed it off, driving the entire body to crash on the ground face-first. She then inched away as quickly as she can and tried to stand up.

Only for the bastard to grab her feet.

_He's recovered so fast than earlier! What the heck?_

The arm was strong enough to drag her close to the fiend yet again and the met each other face to face. Drool and bloodshot eyes met her head on as some of it dripped across her dusty and sweat-laced face. It roared on her and was about to punch her dead center again.

Inko looked around for anything to push it back, but found nothing near them to grab and use it against him. It was easier if she had her quirk but she was powerless at that situation. Desperation for the way things turned out kicked in for her as she put her hand on the fiend's head and quickly grabbed the lighter she used earlier with her right hand. As his fist was about to meet her mid-way, she turned on the lighter and placed it inside the mouth of her enemy.

"Fuck you."

**FWWOOOOOOSSHHHHHH!**

The fist was stopped near her face as her enemy roared through the pain. It's outer shell was definitely tougher, but like turtles or anything with armor in the natural world, the insides were vulnerable to damage that the armor dispels.

"RRAAAAAARRRGHHHH!" it screamed as her left ear was nearly turned deaf in the process. Inko then put both her hands on the exposed brain and tried to dig her fingers on the fleshy organ as it howled.

But before she could finish the job, the damned thing raised its arms and smashed the floor behind her. The concrete and metal bars broke from the impact as a shockwave reverberated around her. Making her ears ring. The debris and smoke intensified when she crashed down on the floor below.

Inko fell on what seemed to be a coffee table made out of glass where it shattered on her back. Her enemy remained atop the floor above as screamed with the fires still blazing on its head. Inko felt herself slowly but surely going to lose this purely-physical fight. Her eyes and vision were now dizzy as she looked at the hole where she came through. She tried sitting up and suddenly felt a more intensifying pain on her back and a shard of glass on her left hand.

Groaning from it, she sat where she landed and looked at the shard buried in a deep wound on her palm. She gritted her teeth after seeing it and had her hands shaking when she slowly crept her fingers on the shard…

And pulled.

"AAAAGGH! F-Fuck, that hurt." She said in a yelp as she threw the glass shard away, her wound bleeding in the process. She then took a handkerchief from her pocket and tried to wrap it as quickly as she can. Tying her wound up with one tight knot, she cringed and groaned from the pain but it would do for now. She looked up and heard it still thrashing upstairs, with the room above her shaking slightly. It had more strength than she bargained for and if it managed to hit her dead center with one punch or something hard enough towards her, she would be dead as a result.

She had to withdraw at a safer distance, and try to find a means to defeat it, otherwise she would die and her daughter would be alone in the process. She didn't want that at all, and with renewed conviction and adrenaline, she stood up and as she looked at what the apartment room she noticed that there was a woman and child hiding in the corner. Scared to death seeing her there.

_Civilians… _

She felt a bad taste in her mouth seeing them. While it was true that she did change her old ways significantly at this point, it didn't mean that she wanted to be a hero totally and save people like this. However, not saving them would bring about dire consequences for her, Toshinori, and worst of all Izumi. She had no choice for the matter, and as much as she wanted to fight her opponent with everything she had, she had to acknowledge that the building she was in had innocent people.

A prospect she didn't like entirely and with how brutal and unrelenting her foe was; she knew that it wouldn't stop even if it meant killing these people.

She had no utter choice but act as a hero at that point and save them.

"Damn it." she cursed under her breath as she looked at the two.

"W-Who are you? A-are you a hero?" the child said.

"Koichi, keep quiet." The mother whispered in fear. As she wore only civilian clothes and not in her so-called hero suit. She also disliked that her clothes were reduced to this as it was… in all honesty it was supposed to be something she wanted Toshinori to admire or look at when she wore it. Putting those thoughts aside, as the bastard above seemed to put out the flames she gave him, she neared the two with easy steps to try and calm them down.

"Stay away!" the mother said.

"Easy… don't worry, I'm a…" she sighs but continues. "I'm a hero working undercover. There's a villain upstairs and I need you and your son to evacuate the premises. You got that?" she said, trying to be professional as possible. The two were calmed at her declaration of hero, but as soon as Inko helped them up to get to the door, something jumped and landed on the hole she came from.

This time, the fiend's face was charred in black by the flames and one of its eyes were burned off along with some bleeding on the top of its exposed brain. Other than that, it looked unfazed and ready for another bout. It was still drooling with its heavy breathing and a clear sign of anger towards her completely.

"RAAAARRRGGHH!" It said as it lunged at her yet again.

"Move!" Inko said as she grabbed the mother and son and tackled them to the ground.

The bastard went managed to crash into the concrete wall seconds before Inko could save the two. She had to admit, the damn thing wasn't smart nor was it tactical. It moved like a dumb animal in heat, ready to strike and attack wildly without thinking straight. She asked herself if the damn thing was a person at all, or if it was someone being controlled.

As she thought of that she looked at the entire apartment for anything useful, and she saw next to a glass case was a signed metal baseball bat and a picture of some famous American baseball player. She looked at the mother and son and thought of her next move.

The fiend managed to get its head unstuck from the wall as Inko broke the glass of the case and stood up. She held the bat in ready and as the bastard faced her, she put all the force on her swing towards its head. Only for it to be caught mid-air but Inko merely smiled, seeing the glass shards behind it where she landed earlier, she kicked him in the body as hard she could to make him fall and he crashed to the ground. It lost its hold on the bat as Inko aimed for the groin.

**THWACK!**

"RAAARRRGGHH!" it roared as it tried to stand up, and as it did Inko positioned her arms towards the thing with the bat in a thrusting motion and she put as much force into the damned thing's face, making it fall a few meters back near the kitchen area of the apartment.

She then saw that there was an open stove and oven close to it.

With one tap of her focus. She ruptured the fuel line. Making it ignite. The fiend recovered again much like earlier, but Inko dropped her guard and grabbed the mother and the son's arms as they left the apartment together. The fiend was about to pursue when the oven and stove gave out a powerful blaze of fire towards it. Scorching the fiend completely.

Fire entered the apartment they came from and Inko along with the mother closed the door behind them in time to conceal the blazing inferno.

An alarm went inside the entire building as the smoke sensors were triggered. Confused and scared civilians got out of their apartment in fear as Inko saw the scene unfold. She was unsure if the enemy she fought was dead, but seeing the amount of civilians in the hallway, she was afraid of either outcome.

"T-Thank you miss. My son and I are alive because of you." The mother suddenly said.

Inko nodded but seeing as the murmurs within the people of the building started, she thought with quick understanding of the situation to evacuate them immediately. She held the baseball bat tight and counted at least 19 people in the hallway she was in, not accounting the others on the other floors. She had to make this quick.

"Everyone! There's a situation in this building that involves a rogue villain about to endanger you. I request you all to evacuate your family and friends out of the building now as authorities arrive!" As soon as she said this, the people in the hallways moved as quick they can as the fire alarm continued to blare. She then looked at two able bodied teens, one girl and one boy and asked them to tell the building's occupants to evacuate on the other floors. Seeing that they saw her as a professional hero, the two obeyed without question and ran off to do as she said, bidding their families to safety before doing their job.

As Inko saw this, she felt weird being in this situation. More than a decade ago, she was on the other side of this particular scene, and being a hero felt odd to her.

_That was easier than I thought… _

Inko felt a small hand tap her on the arm as she returned herself to reality. The boy she saved earlier then held her hand in the process.

"T-Thank you for saving us lady."

She smiled back as well with the mother who looked really grateful of her intervention.

"Go… it isn't safe here." She told them as they joined the others. The mother took the boy into his arms as Inko saw him wave as they left. With the civilians going down the stairs, Inko noticed that her opponent she duped earlier hadn't recovered yet or made any move inside. With the fire alarm continuing to blare, she knew that a blaze was still present, but for the fiend itself…

_You better be dead…_

Not risking further damage and collateral, she opened the door and saw the remnants of the apartment in cinders. Holding the bat in one hand, she surveyed the area. Hoping that it was dead, the blaze was far too strong for her to safely survey the inside, however her limited pyrokinesis kept it at bay by a small degree.

As she closed in on the spot where she last saw her enemy, for some odd reason the senses of her quirk kicked in play.

"RRAAAAARRGGHHHH!"

A rogue arm was about to claw her face, but she managed to dodge this time. A well-timed dodge as she sensed it before it happened. Earlier, she could not and her dodges were by instinct alone. Then as she dodged it, she aimed the baseball bat and swung it across its face.

**THWACK!**

The force of the hit gave some distance between them, and seeing another opportunity with its arms down, Inko made another swing. Each time being harder and harder from the first before it.

**THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!**

As she gave out the third swing, her arms tensed and her muscles began to ache. The feedback from this bastard's tough skin was starting to show with each strike. At the last hit, she was heaving her lungs out for a breath as she looked at her opponent.

What caught her off guard this time was that he was bleeding over and both his eyes were blinded from the explosion. The clear and blood-shot looking irises were now gone replaced with a completely blacked out eye and another in a milky-damaged color that seemed to spew blood and pus dripping from its tear duct. This was the reason why he kept on missing her almost intentionally.

As she continued to have heavy breaths she saw the fiend trying to hit her again with a punch. She sidestepped from it and gave out one more swing into the back of its head, where some parts of its brain was exposed.

**THWACK!**

As the metal contraption made contact with the back of its head, Inko noticed yet another odd thing. A few seconds ago, each hit of the bat managed to make him stagger significantly and he was visibly bruised with each strike across its odd skin color. Yet as she hit its head, she only felt a solid stone-like wall surface that stopped the bat dead on when she made contact with it. This time, she felt the reverberation and impact of the strike on her end.

"Agh!" she groaned as her hands went red with the pain of the trauma.

She wondered what might have caused it, as its eyes were clearly injured but its skin…

With each attack… it grew thicker and thicker and vastly more receptive to the damage than earlier. She widened her eyes in realization at that, backing away at that precise moment caused the damn thing to turn towards her and roar with a far more screeching tone than when she heard it earlier.

"REEAAAAAARRRGHHHH"

It was still blinded, but for some reason this time it looked like it knew by some unknown means as to where she was exactly. It ran at her full speed and Inko tried to back off, only for her to notice that her back had hit the wall and she had no place to escape to.

Holding the baseball bat in hand, she gritted her teeth and was ready to meet the damn thing midway. She had no hope of overpowering it physically, but if maybe with one good hit to the brain, it would finish this all in one powerful swing.

She focused all her willpower on her opponent and set her foot down.

**BWOOM!**

"RAAAARRGHH!" it yelled. Inko was then shocked when she saw it all unfold. The fiend was blown away completely by a force originating from her position. It blew the wall apart a few more apartment rooms in forward and finally crashed on one of the more solid foundations of the building away from her. Clutching the bat in hand, she then realized what had happened.

A smile came upon her features.

"About damn time." She whispered to herself.

The fiend managed to stand up again, and as her hypothesis continued, she reckoned that his quirk allowed him to harden his skin as tough as it can with each consecutive damage it took. The epidermis continued to grow and grow to the point that it will harden with contact from something strong outside. In theory, if she managed to rupture the brain or its skin with enough force, she would kill it successfully.

She threw the baseball bat away and focused her quirk down on it. She now realized that the reason she managed to feel her quirk again was because it was tied with her opponent's eyes. Those eyes were the dampener that stopped her quirk from functioning. When both eyes were taken out, she managed to regain her power again. She was intrigued that the damn thing had so many quirks at its disposal, but she wasn't new to that thing after all.

"REEEAARRRGGHHH!"

It now ran full speed towards her with anger and agitation in its demeanor and body language. Inko then looked at its surroundings and with little examination through her quirk. She found herself in an adequate position of bringing down as much objects at it without bringing down the building with them inside. Objects to debris surrounded it completely and Inko focused her mind on it all. They levitated in the air and as the damn thing neared her by a few meters away…

She made all the objects fly towards her target at staggering speeds.

It happened so fast and with Inko's mastery over her quirk, she overwhelmed it without giving it any time to fight back. An array of objects from all walks of life within homes along with debris, stone, and anything solid swarmed at her opponent continuously. A screeching noise was heard as every object punctured, slashed, slammed, and completely eviscerated his entire body as Inko continued to pepper him.

It was still angry at her and even with the loads of pain it was feeling right now, it still took a step closer to her. As he did this, Inko focused further and more objects flew to its direction. Putting more and more weight as it progressed.

It took a step again.

Inko backed away slowly as the damn thing was still going for her. She then tore off metal pipes, bricks, and more debris towards it. It put out its arm to try and grab her but was attacked by metal bar that pierced through it completely, mangling his limb in the process.

But it continued to step forward.

Seeing that it was unrelenting even with its mangled limb, Inko continued to attack it. Even tearing off windows and doors towards it. All in the effort of killing it.

As she backed away, it took one more step and even with her relentless barrage over its entire body, including its brain, she saw that it was still conscious. Seeing that there was less objects to throw at it, she then saw her baseball bat on the ground and willed to her hand.

She then threw it at him, and as her quirk sped it up, it landed square into the fiend's brain.

**SPLAT!**

Even though multiple hits had been punctured across the fleshy organ, this seemed to do the trick and Inko felt its heartbeat wane down to nothing.

It all became silent now. Silent as what remained within her surroundings. Which were only beams of rock and wood as the walls between apartment rooms were completely hollowed out. It looked like a building ready to be demolished soon and Inko finally felt relief when it was all over.

The body of it slumped towards the ground and laid there.

Smoke was everywhere as dust and other particles were in the air.

As the danger passed, Inko finally felt her injuries taking hold. The pain now grabbed her at that moment as she recalled that Toshinori still needed help. She wiped the blood that was dripping from her lips as too much of her concentration was already given out. As she finally eased her head by turning her quirk off, she suddenly heard something within the apartment.

**CLICK!**

Inko turned around at what was left on the hallway and saw another individual with a gun pointed at her. She was exhausted but the goon of whoever did this seemed to have some form insurance in play in case this one failed. What that insurance was is a man who had an explosive on his chest. Enough to tear the building and her inside of it.

She still had strength to whisk the man away upwards with enough distance to make sure the blast doesn't hurt anyone. But she saw that he had a device on his belt. A particular device that she saw in Juno's building. A dampener… yet again against her.

The range wasn't far, as she could still feel her quirk, but if he makes himself explode it would be a problem. Along with the case of her not knowing what this person's quirk was. She weighed in her options. Thinking of something to possible get out of this.

"Impressive work on the Nomu… I thought the boss said we full-proofed it against you, but we were wrong after all. You are pretty strong lady. I'll give you that." He said.

Inko didn't respond. She simply scowled at him and as he smiled at her while holding the trigger of the bomb on his other hand, he never noticed that there was someone who snuck up on him.

"At least you'll die a martyr miss Ja-

**THWACK!**

His head suddenly exploded with a force equal to All Might's base strength. Innards and blood blew apart and the person who snuck behind him caught his hands in time before the explosive was triggered. It was a woman, and she laid the dead person on the floor slowly and carefully.

Inko stood still, as the woman looked at her. She seemed oddly familiar at that moment, until she spoke to her while walking closer in a slight fashion.

"Long time no see." She simply said.

Inko's eyes widened when she realized that she knew this woman. She knew her well.

She angrily looked at her after thinking of that bitch Juno, and her betrayal of their agreement. Sending a minion of hers here made her furious. As she was about to use her quirk on the woman she saw within Juno's household…

The building shook. Inko then remembered that Toshinori was still battling the other one in the streets close to the building and from the looks of it, he wasn't successful in beating his foe yet.

"Inko Midoriya… I have a mission to play here. Like it or not you will need my help." The woman suddenly said. Inko scowled at her at that provocation.

"I already told your master. To fuck off. What more does she want from me? I already warned her I'd kill you all if I see even one of you here." She bawled her fists as she continued. "So give me a good reason why I shouldn't pop that pompous head of yours off your body this instant."

The woman smiled, recalling how Inko beat all of them within their own territory.

She was definitely cautious and intimidated, but her resolve in her mission remained.

"The mistress has tasked me to protect Izumi Midoriya and at this very moment, if we do not act right now she will die along with her classmates and her quirk will fall into the wrong hands."

Inko lost some traction of her anger at the statement, still she did not trust this woman. Not one bit. However, given the current circumstance and the state she was in, she was utterly unsure if she was able to continue in protecting her daughter further.

She weighed her options at that moment, thinking if she should trust her.

She sighed as she looked outside where the chaos was only intensifying.

"You try anything else other than what you say bitch… I will kill you." She said as the woman, the one called Nemain nodded at her warning. She then walked to the stairs but was stopped by Inko who didn't move from where she stood.

"We must hurry; your daughter is in danger within UA." Nemain said.

"If what you say is true, then we're going to need him." Inko replied looking at the open walls towards the outside. Where helicopters and police sirens were heard.

Toshinori's battle had just begun and there was no indication of it stopping anytime soon.

* * *

Minutes Earlier…

In all of Toshinori Yagi's years as the hero All Might, there were only a very few handful of opponents that could face him evenly within a fist fight or in a battle of quirks. Ideally, he was always focused at his job and was always steadfast and cautious of his actions as his age brought him to where he was now. A hero known to everyone who always ended the fight quickly to spare more lives in the process and avoiding serious property damage. However, there were only very few times where he had to be truly serious. Foes with volatile quirks were the kind that made him think with his actions more rather than blindly smiling into the fray with minor punches included.

There were times where he had to fight for his life as well, one enemy in particular that left a permanent scar into his wellbeing a few years later into now. Some were of quirk users with really powerful abilities, but it was genuinely rare for him to find someone who could withstand a blow from a straight up punch coming from him. It could be because of his age and weakness on recent times, but his normal punch would still be enough to break down a medium-sized building with one blow.

If he threw it and the damn villain never moved in place nor flinched at where he was, then it meant that he could survive blows like that. Possibly even higher than that. With that thought in place, he knew that he needed to be serious.

"It's All Might!" one passerby said and along with a few others they took out their phones and tried to take pictures of him. He quickly got up from the car he landed on as bits of glass and metal were completely flattened from where he landed on.

Toshinori then saw that there were far too many civilians in this side of the street than earlier. Making him wonder as to what the reason was. But before he could dwell on those thoughts further, he saw the black hulking mass that punched him letting out a guttural cry.

It completely silenced the entire street full of civilians.

"Everybody, find cover!" he yelled as his opponent jumped into the air and was aiming to crash at him directly. Toshinori stood up and jumped upwards trying to intercept his foe head on.

**THOOM!**

An earth-shattering shockwave reverberated into the small section of street, breaking the glass from the windows near them, but with the might of two punches struck into his foe he suddenly saw that the shockwave began to spread not behind him, but in front of him. The body of this beast yet again absorbed such a punch head-on without damage.

The monstrosity then grabbed his head and punched him.

**THOOM!**

The weight of the punch was something he had never felt in a long time. He crashed to the pavement, exploding with smoke and debris as he laid there on a crater. He groaned as he tried to stand up, until the monstrosity was about to crash on him.

He sidestepped narrowly, and tackled the monster by the torso. Using all the strength to tackle him to the ground. Toshinori then tried to hit him again consecutively with multiple punches on blinding speeds, only for him to do no damage and his right fist being caught yet again.

The monster stood up and punched him in the face.

**THOOM!**

Knocking Toshinori's head slightly as he staggered. He retaliated with a strike from himself, resulting in a charged heavy blow that would surely break apart a skyscraper.

**BOOM!**

As his punch connected, he only felt a malleable surface that seemingly just moved slightly. Absorbing his punch yet again even with that amount of force behind it. He then realized that punching him like this was pointless at this point. He could do more damage but he still heard civilians, law enforcement sirens, and the building near them was where Inko was. If he went all out, this could mean terrible consequences upon everything around him.

He had to think of subduing this villain as fast as he can and as effective as he could with what little expenditure he needed to give out. As he thought about this, the monster grabbed his right arm, and threw a blow right through his head.

"AGH!" Now he really felt that badly, having pain like this wasn't normal at all and he could feel that the punch would certainly bruise him with how hard it was. The monster then roared again, raising both its arms upwards to slam him as Toshinori raised his to block it.

**THOOM! **

A violent shockwave once again had spread out on the street, knocking down more solid objects this time. The nearby cars were moved away slightly and some civilians were imbalanced with the police trying to call for back up as they watched the madness unfold.

"URRGGH!" he groaned as he held back all of that weight from the monster who kept on pressing down. Toshinori looked at both directions and saw a car. He immediately broke the stalemate by pushing back the monster suddenly with enough force, and delivering a kick that would give them distance from each other.

He then moved for the car as quickly as he can and grabbed the bumper by his bare hands. The metal instantly got crushed within the weight of his hand and as he looked back seeing the monster about to hit him with another strike, he picked up the car and slammed it towards his opponent.

**CRASH!**

Pieces of metal flew away on all directions as Toshinori lifted what remained of the vehicle and slammed it into his foe again. The car broke in half and between it, the monstrosity punched a hole and drove Toshinori back. Leaving the car in the hands of the monster.

It tore it in half and charged at him.

Having no choice but to contain the fight within the distance they created, they exchanged blows.

Toshinori's face was hit by the car as he retaliated by punching the other half upwards, sending it towards a nearby building where it got stuck there. The monster roared at him and hit him three more times with what was left of the other half and Toshinori raised his guard, blocking the slam about to hit him in the face again.

"RAAAAAGGHH!" he yelled as he charged and punched his foe head on. He then grabbed the beak-like snout and drove his knee into its face with as much force as possible. He then gave out hits into its stomach and grabbed a portion of its tight skin and rag dolled it into the ground.

**BWOOSH!**

Panting from the barrage of attacks, Toshinori hoped that he did some damage, only for his question to be answered when a kick to his stomach was brought up. The kick managed to hold so much force that it affected his wound. He gagged and spat out blood as he was blown back a couple of meters away down the street.

Civilians and police officers dodged the flailing All Might narrowly as he hit the pavement two more times before crashing into the highway. Only being stopped by a truck whom coincidentally arrived. He felt dizzy after that as he heard screams in the distance.

He then saw that his opponent took no damage. Rather, he was more pissed than usual.

Toshinori spat out blood as he got out of his position. The wound on his body was ruptured by that punch, and he damn well felt sure that it was bleeding through now. He had to be cautious next time. Otherwise he would be hit again. Another few good blows would surely weaken him to the point of depowering into his vulnerable state.

He didn't want that happen. A lot of people were trusting him to succeed here now.

And he didn't want to leave those people that meant so much to him.

He didn't even know how Inko was doing, or if Izumi was okay. He also didn't want any civilians and innocent people to die because he ever did his job right. He needed to end this.

He had to prove to the world again that he became All Might for a reason.

And he had to show it here and now.

"ROOOAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!" the monster yelled as Toshinori started to run towards it with a determined look of a hero that he was well-known for. Justice would stand today, and he would never let the forces of evil beat him back.

He was the Symbol of Peace, the Number One hero…

He was All Might and in the name of his Master who gave him his power and reason to fight on…

He would step forward with bravery and courage.

"DETROIT..." charging up his fist, seconds before contact, Toshinori yelled as loud as he can.

"…SMASH!"

**THOOOOOM!**

With a fist as strong as his attack, Toshinori took the risk even if it meant doing damage to his surroundings. The force of the punch that could relatively cause the winds to part was a risky move in a civilian populace but it was good enough to severely damage his opponent. Maybe even knock him out with that much strength.

However, as hard as his resolve was and as hard as his attack was…

The damn thing absorbed the impact and the power of that punch head on… like nothing.

"ROOAAARRGHH!" the monster yelled before raising his fists upward and slammed Toshinori on the top of his head. This time the impact of the punch registered and a small shockwave swept over that shook the ground close to them.

Toshinori felt the slam so hard that he became dizzy. His opponent then grabbed his hair and as he tried to fight him off, the monster punched him upward. He was thrown forward up into the sky where Police Helicopters and News aircraft were flying. The public could not believe their eyes seeing All Might being thrown into a fight with this much intensity for the longest time ever.

One helicopter in particular had their eyes widen in fear as Toshinori's body was about to collide on them. People who were watching by were horrified in seeing that, mentioning why were there no other heroes who would come and help?

"TURN, TURN, TURN DAMN IT!" The reporter said as Toshinori hit the tail of the aircraft making the passengers wail in horror as they made their descent to death. Toshinori who was barely conscious was then attacked by the monster mid-air in a flurry of punches, but he was able to regain his focus and he managed to catch one of the fists being thrown at him and delivered a retaliatory strike in the process.

**THOOM!**

He then saw the helicopter about to crash down below, and he angled himself backward and punched the air to give him a forward thrust back to the Earth. With the rate of how strong his thrust was, he managed to outrun the speed of the helicopter's descent just in time for him to catch it.

Toshinori took the punishment of the landing head on as they crashed down below. Making a small crater where dust and debris flew apart. With the smoke clearing up, he placed the helicopter down on the ground gently seeing the passengers inside, scared half to death.

Normally he would have given a smile, but at the state of the situation, he had to remain vigilant.

"Get yourselves out of there, understand?" he said while panting as he ripped the door off the helicopter and the thankful people inside wished him well. They were also surprised to see All Might exhausted and having very visible bruises and small lacerations across his face.

"Help! I'm stuck!" the pilot said, his broken leg trapped amongst the machinery of the broken down aircraft. All Might looked around to see where the villain was, but he immediately turned his attention towards the civilian inside. He needed to free him quick. One of the reporters stayed to help as All Might slowly bent the steel and instruments trapping the pilot's foot.

"Easy now… you'll be free in no time alright?" he gently said.

"T-Thank you All Might." The pilot replied as Toshinori nodded at him, after that he managed to pry the entrapment off and he managed to carry the pilot out, giving him slowly to the reporter helping them. Paramedics and police were closing in to help the injured pilot, only for the villain to crash down next to All Might. Toshinori quickly shielded the two from harm but those who came near were not safe from the shockwave of pressure that came from its descent.

"Run! Get him to safe-ACK!"

The monster grabbed his shoulder and brought him forward to him, punching him into the chest. The hit was close to his old wounds, and he already felt blood boiling up to his mouth. The monster then was about to punch him in stomach, but he managed to grab its arm midway using his hands.

However, that left him open on the other hand on managed to hit him square on to where his old wounds were. Gritting his teeth to the pain, blood started to seep out of his lips. The monster roared again with much more grit this time and delivered a bone crushing punch to the face.

"AGH!" Toshinori was staggered back allowing the brute to him with a barrage of punches and strikes, to which he was narrowly defending from it all.

In a battle of attrition, he knew he was outclassed as this opponent of his wasn't showing signs of being exhausted. Nor did he show signs of being damaged at all.

With one punch being able to hit him in square in the face again, Toshinori had enough.

He tackled the monster into his torso, pushing him back with enough strength to move him at a good pace. He then yelled in anger as he slammed him into the helicopter. The monster then punched him in the torso, directly into his wound. Making it bleed in the process as he tasted blood in his mouth. But he maintained his momentum, pushing it back as hard he can to get his opening.

This would have been the case if the monster ran out of stamina. Which it looked it wasn't.

Knowing this, Toshinori then broke the hold. He then kicked the monster into the corner as hard as he can and punched him nonstop. With each hit, being stronger and stronger, but he had limits and as he continued to plow down on the monster, he knew that he had to do something to stop this at that moment.

It was now or never and he will-

"ACK!" Toshinori's neck was grabbed and he was slammed hard into the ground.

The monster then looked up, seeing the helicopter blades and tore one out of it. It then used one of those blades and was about to hit try and slice him downward, only for him to catch it with both his hands.

Inches away from his face, he knew that if this continued with enough force, that measly blade could in fact cut him. Maybe even kill him, but he relented. Twisting the blade into the right suddenly, making the monster lose his grip. Now he had possession of the weapon. He didn't want to do this, but he had to end it now, as everything around him was being torn apart by their fight.

He struck the helicopter blade forward, slicing the monster's chest slightly, opening a wound that burst out quite an amount of blood. It tried to catch the blade with its arm, only this time with as much weight behind the swing, Toshinori managed to cut it.

The monster yelled in pain as its arm was cut off, but for a second there it went out on the attack again. It swiped blood towards Toshinori's face, blinding him for a second as he put his guard up. The monstrosity took it as an advantage and disarmed him by punching his weak spot.

"URK!"

The pain made Toshinori flinch as he wiped his eyes off the blood, with his own blood bubbling up with each hit he took. His waning health was getting better of him in this fight and he knew that in his younger days, this would not have been the case.

Still, he needed to fight.

He swung the helicopter blade in a thrusting motion to possibly incapacitate it with a painful stab, but not enough to kill it on its chest. The monster tried to swat the blade away with its other hand but Toshinori was too fast when he delivered the thrust deep into his enemy. He managed to puncture its skin through it shoulder. Pinning it into the remains of the helicopter he slammed him into. The blade also went deep, down into the ground giving it weight and stability strong enough to pin his enemy in place.

But as he continued to hold his enemy in place, the monster hit him where it counted.

With its only free arm left, it continued to roar whilst punching his weak spot continuously. With each hit becoming more and more painful as Toshinori held his opponent in place. With eyes of people watching in the background, they felt a sense of shock when the monster balled up its fist…

Delivering a crushing blow into his weak spot.

"AAAGHH!" he yelled. Blood no spreading across the clothes he wore while his mouth was also seeping out blood on his lips. The pain was immeasurable now, and what made it worse was that the arm he severed earlier…

Grew back.

He was late to react when the other arm that healed back in place, struck a blow into his face that made him black out. Along with throwing his body backward, making him crash on the nearby store. The store manager and some of the people that took cover in there were surprised and shocked seeing a bleeding All Might knocked out inside.

"Is that really All Might?" one of the civilians said.

"Did he just get beaten by that villain?"

News helicopters and police closed in with guns aimed at the monstrosity whom took the blade out of its body slowly even with the amount of pain it was feeling at that current moment. Tearing it half by breaking the blade stuck to him. The wounds closed faster this time and the people around it grew nervous. As All Might himself had not recovered yet.

"This is the police, you are surrounded! Surrender yourself to us or there will be consequences." One police officer in a headphone said as a van full of special SWAT teams came into the scene. The monster, looking around for All Might felt agitated at the presence of numerous people around it.

"This is your last warning. Down on the ground… now!" one of the officers said as rifles were now aimed at the monster. It roared in outrage as a result. It was about to attack the nearby officers before they could fire their guns, only for it to be suddenly bound by wooden roots.

"The heroes are here!" one of the police officers said, as true enough Kamui Woods was the one who bound the villain with his wooden appendages, he stood up from a rooftop. He grabbed on tight, acknowledging that the blows the monster gave were enough to faze All Might and he quickly elongated the roots far enough so that he can bind it as hard and fast as he can.

"Your days of bringing doom and destruction are done villain! Now repent and-"

The monster pulled on the roots with sufficient force to make him crash next to his feet. Kamui Woods was dazed by that attack, and the monstrosity roared in his face. in the next few seconds, it was able to tear away the roots and branches on its body and grabbed Kamui Woods into one of its hands.

With a grip that was seemingly able to break him like a tree branch, he started to fear for his own life when he heard gunfire hailing the body of the monster to no effect. At that very moment, he felt his body slowly being crushed by the weight of its hold, until the monster was knocked out of its balance.

"Let him go!" a voice said, as the monster lost its hold on him Kamui took a large breath on the ground as he saw Death Arms wrestling the enemy head on.

While he had the momentum to outbalance it, he didn't have the sufficient strength to go toe to toe with it. It was obvious once Death Arms managed to land a hit, without the monster even flinching nor staggering slightly at his attack.

"Oh God…" he said as he raised his arms at the punch that was about to land, but Kamui Woods was able to catch it in time. Death Arms then saw an opening and did his best to attack with the monster open to it. He tried to hit in the body, its face, and other parts but it simply won't go down. The monster then pulled on Kamui's binds and threw him at Death Arms to which they both crashed into each other.

Bullets rained on the impenetrable skin of All Might's adversary and seeing how annoyed it was, it was now aiming its vengeance and anger towards the police. The men in uniform were about to evacuate, until something big intervened.

**BOOM!**

"Have a problem there, boys?" the hero, Mt. Lady said as she put her foot down on the monster. Kamui Woods shook his head in slight annoyance at the pompous statement of the woman who was as big as a building from their position. The ground became quiet for a moment as they all saw the smoke and debris settle. Kamui lifted Death Arms off the ground as they felt their injuries settle in. They looked at the crater where the monster once was and saw the triumphant looking Mt. Lady smiling at them with a wink. The media then continued to take pictures and footage with Mt. Lady waving at them.

It seems like they won. They managed to win against an adversary All Might had difficulty with.

"I think this job is getting to me now." Kamui said.

"Heh, not all of our quirks are ideal for certain situations. We just have to accept that." He replied as they saw Mt. Lady towering over them with the police officers closing in. They then looked at the store All Might crashed into and they both decided to help him up. They couldn't believe that he was beaten there but they had a duty to uphold their fellow heroes and citizens. That situation would be resolved for later.

Or so they thought…

Mt. Lady suddenly stopped smiling. Feeling something underneath her foot. She wondered what it was and tried to apply more pressure against it, but it was too late. With civilians close and personnel of the law within the vicinity. All of the eyes on the street were surprised to see it unfold.

Exploding from beneath her foot, the monster unscathed jumped into the air. The pressure and shockwave of his appearance threw everyone back, including Mt. Lady who had a shocked look on her face. The monster then roared in mid-air and punched her. The giantess, feeling the weight of the strike was knocked out completely and she fell downwards on the building behind her back. A building that had innocent people inside.

"NOO!" Kamui Woods said as he stood up and tried to rope his roots across Mt. Lady's body and arms to keep her from falling. Death Arms then helped him to pull the giantess back as the monster landed on the ground. The policemen started to fire their guns at it. The monster didn't take notice of their fire but instead was running at their direction.

"HOLD HER STEADY!" Death Arms said as he let go of Kamui who was no besieged by Mt. Lady's weight in her giant form. He then met the monster head on. Trying to push it away from Kamui who was trying his best. Death Arms put all his strength on the exchange as the monster tried to attack him. The weight of the punches were too intense but he had to hold on or else his comrades will die.

Alas, he couldn't as the enemy broke his guard and punched him towards Kamui.

They crashed into each other. The force pushing them back managed to tug Mt. Lady into the opposite direction. She then opened her eyes from blacking out earlier and saw that she was about to crash. In panic, he quirk turned off and she reverted to her normal size. To which the monster was about to get her, jumping her direction to intercept her and kill her.

Until Death Arms, badly bruised and bloodied jumped towards her position. Catching her in time before the monster could get to her and they both landed on the ground safely.

Panting and exhausted from all the damage he took, the hero looked at Mt. Lady on his arms.

"Y-You okay?"

"Y-yes" she said with a shaking voice. He managed to smile back, until the worst happened.

**SPLAT!**

Blood was sprayed into Mt. Lady's face and they both saw Death Arms' chest was punched through by the enemy. Death Arms' eyes looked at her in determination. Asking her to fight on and stop the beast, but she was far too shocked and stunned at that moment to react.

Blood came out of the hero's mouth as his last moments already started. He was thrown away to the side by the monster as Mt. Lady crawled in fear as he saw the monster and a dying Death Arms by her side. There was no way he could be saved from that, as he himself could no longer move. Blood was pooling near Mt. Lady who could do nothing but watch as the inevitable came.

The monster that beat All Might, was about to kill them all…

* * *

Earlier…

"_**Wake up…"**_

Toshinori Yagi could only see blackness at that moment. Pure unadulterated darkness that seeped into his vision. He couldn't move at that point, only stare into the vast expanse of nothing. He wondered where he was. He wondered why he was here.

Yet he didn't find the answer.

_**"Wake up… Toshinori Yagi."**_

He tried to find the voice, until a bright expanse of light started to permeate within the center of his vision. A bright light that took shape of a woman. A familiar voice, amidst a woman he knew very well. He smiled, thinking if he was dead… but the light brightened further, making him see the colors of One for All taking shape. With his master, Nana Shimura standing in the middle of it all.

_**"Your purpose is not done here boy. Be the hero you always wanted to be and fight to very end."**_

He tried to reply back, but his words couldn't come through. Like his voice never existed.

_**"We'll see each other again soon. However, right at this moment, the people you care about most is in danger. Return to them, regain your purpose and save them all…"**_

He suddenly felt his body again for some reason, and as he tried to speak to his master the light brightened into blinding levels. As that happened, his eyes started to open slightly and he was brought back to the real world. With a sweet voice of concern and worry welcoming him back.

"Wake up!" that voice said, and with his eyes blinking he saw Inko Midoriya holding his face. She had wounds and blood on her, but she looked fine otherwise. Her worry was evident on her expression, with her eyes wanting him badly to respond.

With his senses coming back, he held on to her hand.

"A-Are you okay?" he asked in a weak voice. As he said that, Inko smiled and gave a light laugh. A laugh that made Toshinori smile.

"You damn idiot. You were worried about me huh? You should worry about yourself more. You look like shit." She admitted as they both giggled. She then sat up and offered her hand towards him. Picking him up as he tended to his bleeding wound.

"It hit you bad huh?" she said seeing the blood on his shirt.

"I've had worse cases." He replied as they saw the carnage unfolding outside. He then looked around noticing that the store had no civilians inside of it.

"Where are the-

"I've taken care of that, as well as the ones in the apartment where it all started. It wasn't that hard, but it did slow down things on my part." She replied, whom was holding her shoulder, with Toshinori seeing her wounds which were also bleeding a bit. Noticing at first, Inko snapped him out of his line of thought.

"Hey, we can worry about our injuries later. We still got something bigger to take care of."

"Hold on, you really did save those people in the apartment building?"

"I did…" she admitted as Toshinori couldn't believe it at first.

"What about the other villain?"

"What do you think?" Inko replied. Toshinori frowned, but he did acknowledge that given her background she would do this. As for the authorities finding about that, he would need to worry about that later. Inko understood the look he had on his face so she decided to explain.

"Don't worry… I've masked most of the evidence. The public doesn't know about my pyrokinetic abilities, so I torched the place making it seem like he did it to himself. Besides, they don't know my face so the people that did see me wouldn't know."

"That's good. I think." He said, not exactly sure what to think with that.

Gunfire roared outside as the turmoil with the monster he fought continued. He now saw the local heroes doing their work as Toshinori looked in worry at how exactly to beat this villain. He then looked at Inko.

"How did you manage to beat yours? I thought the other one dampened your quirk."

"It wasn't easy and add the fact that it had a lot of quirks didn't really help in the end on my part. Can you tell me what this one's quirks are?"

He tried to remember how much beating it took, and by the looks of it, he had a few things in mind. Specifically, how the enemy managed to survive blows from him.

"It seems to absorb any amount of shock and impact I give it. Even one of my strongest hits couldn't put a dent. It also managed to regrow its arm after I severed it, and it healed the stab wound I managed to inflict. While its own strength is great, I think the real factor to consider here is its defense." He said to Inko as the fight ravaged on outside. He had to act now, otherwise his comrades would be in danger.

"You said shock absorption right?" Inko said. He then nodded in reply. "I've seen you hit things far above how much the public knows about your strength. You've also told me about the enemy you fought years ago that took a toll on you."

She placed a hand on his shoulder with a determined look.

"If you can do all of those things, beating me included… then I know you can win this. Izumi and I are counting on you. And I can't believe I'm saying this but the world is counting on you Toshi."

He nodded at her as the giant foot of Mt. Lady stomped the villain.

"I've gotten everyone out. So are we going to engage or not?" another voice said, and as Toshinori turned he saw a woman behind them. A peculiar looking woman he had not seen before. He looked at Inko about it but she shrugged at him.

"I'll explain later, but for now do you need help?"

* * *

Mt. Lady sat there with fear in her eyes as the monster towered over her. Ready to give the final blow. Kamui Woods was unconscious, Death Arms was at death's door and she would join him soon. She crossed her arms in fear as the shadow loomed over her. Ready to squash her completely.

Her tears adored her once happy face, seconds away from doom.

Until…

**FWOOSH!**

A pillar of flame violently raged on the monster's back. The heat never got to burn its skin, but it was enough to get its attention. Mt. Lady was confused at first as to who was her savior, thinking that it was Endeavor, but her eyes were put in a surprise when a woman with green hair valiantly stood in front of the monster, burning it with flames while holding a small cheap lighter in her hand.

The monster roared at her direction and as it happened another woman came to her rescue managing to levitate Kamui and Death Arms away into safety. Mt. Lady then saw the woman offer her hand to get her out of there. She didn't hesitate as the battle continued with Inko both using her telekinesis and pyrokinetic abilities to work as Nemain tried to get the victims off the battlefield.

"Did you get them out?" she said as she saw that the monster was inching in at her, the lighter she held had much less fuel than her trusty old one that got destroyed earlier.

"They're out!" she heard the response, and the flames evaporated.

The monster roared at her as its burns healed.

"ROOOOAAARRRGHHH!"

"NOW!" Inko shouted and she ducked, just in time for Toshinori to go in guns blazing over her.

"OKLAHOMA… SMASH!" he said as he threw a strike towards its chest.

**THOOM!**

Once again, the impact did not register, but that wasn't the point of his attack. As Toshinori closed the distance between them, he gave out a barrage of punches. This time, getting stronger and faster with each strike as he gave it his all. Not wanting to wane his strength with each attack. It would cost a lot to his body, but he had to do this now.

As the flurry of punches proceeded to continue, Inko erected a large wall to block the debris, dust, and to dampen the shockwaves caused by their battle. Behind her stood Nemain along with the injured heroes as they watched All Might battle the monster. Most of the civilians and reporters were now in a much safer distance, with the police and other heroes taking cover near the battle as it took place.

Too much property damage had been caused, but they all put their hopes in All Might to end this.

As All Might gave it his all, the monster also fought back by hitting his weak spot constantly. With each hit, Toshinori felt the pain and his powers dwindling to something he himself could not calculate, even so he never relented and pushed on. Even if it cost him his time as All Might in this form, he would push forward. He had to win this now…

Or die trying.

"TAKE THIS!" he yelled as he thrust out his fist, to which the monster caught with its own. This time, it was different. The wave finally reverberated on its arm, and Toshinori smiled after seeing that. It had limits, and even if this bastard was able to take him on within one hundred percent of his power, it still had a threshold.

A threshold he can break.

"I have to give you my respects villain... You may be strong enough to fight me head on, but you will never defeat me. As long as I stand… I am the SYMBOL OF PEACE…" his attacks became faster and faster to the point that the monster was overwhelmed with his speed and the dust and debris began to violently rage around them. He then aimed his punch upward, and slammed him sky-high.

"… AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS LONG AS I STAND! RAAAGHH!"

**THOOM!**

A powerful burst of force broke as All Might jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the monster, going higher and higher into the air. AS the dust settled on the ground, Inko watched in awe at Toshinori, thinking to herself if she was really able to beat him back then. She smirked at that thought as the others watched on in awe at the display of power.

Toshinori continued to plow his enemy with his strength as it was now overwhelmed by the massive force he was putting out. It wasn't able to absorb his attacks anymore and it was now too overwhelmed to even fight back.

It tried to fight back with a hit, but he managed to land a blow on its head. It wasn't hard enough to break its exposed brain, but it was certainly affected. Not wanting it to fight back, Toshinori continued his assault within the sky as shockwaves and explosions rattled the onlookers below.

"A real hero, will always find a way for justice to be served!"

He pushed forward as they were now falling on the ground, he grabbed its arm and punched it for fighting back as he aimed the monster to land on its back. Toshinori then punched it into the head to give more speed on their descent and true enough, they started burning up.

He held on to it as they landed.

**BOOM!**

A fireball commenced the moment they hit the ground and Inko quickly raised as much cover as she can to protect herself and the injured heroes while the police who were near raised their riot shields. A small tremor was felt as the shockwave subsided. Smoke cleared slowly, as Toshinori stood tall over his enemy who was on the ground.

However, it still managed to stand up and was about to fight him again until All Might, the Symbol of Peace saw his opportunity. With a determined look, he charged up his fist, putting the power of One for All into his final attack.

One final attack to finish it all.

"Now for a lesson, you may have heard these words before but I'll teach you what they really mean…" The wind suddenly vanished around them, accumulating on Toshinori as the monster roared at him while about to strike him. With the clouds above moving to the energy he accumulated, he opened his eyes and the power of One for All flowed.

The creature aimed his fist at him, but it was too late.

With the charged power of generation after generation shared by this quirk…

He let it all out with one final blow.

"GO BEYOND!" An aura of energy sparked on his being with the monster inches away…

"PLUS ULTRA!"

**THOOOOOOMMMM!**

It happened so fast. A blink of light in multiple colors was seen through All Might's fist as it hit his target. A powerful wave of force came after that, and with the raw distribution of power, the monster flew into the sky. High above the stratosphere. With merely a blink showing it where it flew into.

With one single punch, the world was once again awakened by how powerful the Symbol of Peace was. With one single event, the hero All Might was once again cemented as the world's best and most powerful hero.

Panting in exhaustion, he smiled in triumph as he raised his arm into the air.

With the police and the public watching in tears. It didn't matter where they were at that moment. All Might once again was triumphant against a greater foe and the world felt safe again.

Cheers and joyful smiles were given, as the injured heroes were taken away by the authorities. Inko and Nemain managed to leave just in time to get them out of attention, and All Might after seeing through that it was finished he managed to revert into his normal form afterwards, where Inko was waiting for him away from the public's eyes. They were sure that people will question them thoroughly, which was not a thing they needed to do at that moment. As the UA was still at risk.

Countless media and police cordoned of the area where the battle took place and the injured heroes were taken into the hospital. The day was won but even with All Might's victory, there were still recorded casualties. Casualties and amongst them was DeathArms whose fate was sealed hours later. Kamui helped a silent and bloodied Mt. Lady up into one of the ambulances as they left. The woman traumatized by the incident.

Elsewhere, away from the prying eyes of the world, three people were scrambling for a vehivelt to take them to UA. As Inko already got so many messages through her surprisingly still intact phone from Nemuri, whom like earlier had just been informed about the USJ attack.

Exhausted, the old hero held himself upon Inko's arms who was helping him walk.

They tried to find a usable car, until one in particular drove beside them. With the doors opening, they all saw Nighteye standing there with his assistant Bubble Girl.

"Mirai? W-What are you doing here?" he asked. With Inko remaining with a cautious demeanor looking at the sharp-looking former sidekick of Toshinori.

"I assume you need help with transportation."

"Who gave you that idea?" Inko said.

"That Inko Midoriya is a thing I want to find out, but since your daughter is in peril I think I'm your only means of getting there quickly."

"Why should we trust you?" Inko said.

"Inko… Mirai's a friend, he wouldn't do anything." Toshinori said to her.

"I'm not aware of what's happening here All Might, nor am I aware of what you and Ms. Midoriya here is hiding. But for the sake of those students, and your girl… we need to make haste."

Inko and Toshinori looked at each other, with Nemain waiting for their lead.

One thing was in their minds at that moment, and even though authorities and the school itself had its own defenses against intruders, that did not insure the safety of the girl known as Izumi Midoriya.

Even with the victory over the adversaries within the city, it was a mere distraction to what the villains really wanted and they had to stop it soon.

Or everything will be for naught.

**END OF ACT 2**


	33. XVI The Red Demon ACT 3

XVI. The Red Demon

* * *

**ACT 3**

11:56 Hours, USJ Complex, UA Campus Grounds…

"What is that?" Tsuyu said behind Thirteen who was just as shocked and scared as her. Along with their classmates that were in sheer terror seeing the large being towering over Izumi. Even Tenya, who was able to hold Himiko in his arms watched in terror. Momo and Kirishima whom were at Izumi's back couldn't help but stand there in stillness.

With everyone's quirk shut down because of Izumi's release of power earlier, everything came down to a standstill of silence. Aizawa was still reeling in with the consequences of this discovery, as to why this large 'thing' has Midoriya's DNA. If that was the case, then they were all doomed if they managed to already mass produce it. However, there was one problem with that line of thought, that being that if they already had the secrets to the girl's quirk…

Then why bother taking her in the first place?

"So, Izumi Midoriya. Do you accept the terms? Or not? This is non-negotiable now. With the presence of the Nomu harboring your DNA and part of your Quirk, I think you already know that you have a match in terms of power. So fighting us this way will only end in your demise. As well as those of your classmates and teachers who are at a tipping point between life and death." The leader said towards Izumi, who was weighing in her options at what to do at that very moment.

"Izumi…" Momo said in a low tone. Kirishima who was afraid at first, suddenly stepped up and placed himself between the redhead girl. Izumi who was still at a standstill was surprised at the action, but she never questioned it.

"Hey buddy… if you think you can easily manipulate all of us here into giving you OUR classmate, you're pretty much mistaken. Midoriya here is one of our classroom's beloved members, and while I'm not that close to her yet, I no damn well that giving in to your demands is unheroic. We're students of the Hero Course after all, and you damn well know that we'll fight for the greater good." He said as he determinedly looked into the villains who were present.

Momo stepped up as well, standing by Izumi's side.

"He's right, inexperienced as we may be. You won't detest us yet. We have classmates that need our help, and we're there by their side to keep them safe."

"You guys…" Izumi said as both of them smiled at her. Standing with her at that very moment.

Thirteen admired the determination and loyalty of the Class 1-A with each other. Even those behind her stood their ground and joined in on it. Foolish and dangerous as it was, she couldn't help but feel relieved that these young men and women were ready for the risks. Aizawa on the other hand, was not thrilled with what was happening.

Acknowledging that everyone within Midoriya's vicinity was relieved of their quirks, he made his move through the use of his scarf. Quickly tangling itself on one of the villains by his left and suffocating them with one tight grip. He then kicked the leg of one by his right and elbowed that person in the face.

He then quickly jumped away and threw his scarf at the woman guarding Tenya and Himiko's position. With a quick maneuver, her managed to entangle the woman by the torso and threw her away to a safe distance back to her comrades. In a display of pure skill and years of experience within the field, Aizawa quickly disarmed the entire group which was very obvious that they depended on their quirks too much. He then stood in front of Izumi afterwards, getting a defensive position over the towering monster that stood a few meters away.

"Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, tend to Iida and Toga this instant. If you really want to help, I suggest you get on to it." He said as he looked at the two of which nodded and did as ordered. He looked at Izumi for a half second before turning his attention to Thirteen.

"Thirteen, get everyone out of here. Including Midoriya…"

"But Mr. Aizawa! I can't just leave yo-

"That's an order Midoriya. I understand not wanting to risk the lives of everyone here including your classmates who were transported somewhere, but you're out of your depth kid. I can't let you risk your life knowing that there was another option."

"Mr. Aizawa…" Izumi protested with an expression of fear at the man who wasn't afraid at death gazing upon him at that very moment.

"Like I said… get your classmates out. You'll do more good if you listen to me. Especially since your best friend is gravely injured." Aizawa repeated, not wavering his face over the girl's protests.

"Thirteen! Get everyone here as well. I'll hold them off!" he said as his colleague nodded at his direction. He knew that he had to make this stand as long as he can before he was out for the count. Buying them time to get out was the main objective. Should Midoriya stop her quirk from giving out that feedback that shut down everyone's abilities within her vicinity, he was going be left to his own musings combatting all six of them at once.

As this happened, the leader of the villains clapped slowly at their little entertaining dialogue with each other. The other four regrouped behind him along with the one they called Nomu and the one with the Gate quirk. He was far too pleased with what was happening, knowing full well that this outcome was also taken into measure.

"What a typical display of heroism, but I'm afraid your bravery will be of no use Mr. Aizawa. Unless the dear girl says yes and comes with us, you will all die here and not a single one of you will survive." He then stared into Izumi's eyes behind Aizawa. Izumi's quirk had subsided significantly, and the villains noticed that their quirks were slowly coming back to them.

"Is that really a risk you're willing to play on girl?" he asked, the words directed at Izumi.

"N-No…" she responded.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Behind them, Thirteen had already carried the injured Himiko while Kirishima. Mineta and Koji helped Tenya through his broken legs. Momo, Ojiro and the other girls were waiting for Izumi to join them as the standoff continued. Uraraka touched the both of them so they would be easier to handle.

"Midoriya, I said go." Aizawa said. Izumi, unsure of what to do stared at him as Aizawa readied himself for combat. Even if it meant fighting this 'Nomu' head on. Izumi on the other hand was in a situation she didn't know how to respond to. She had all of these questions, questions of various kinds that made her ask what her quirk was, and why these people wanted it. Especially this 'Nomu' that had her DNA. It made her scared and confused along with the fact of those classmates that were missing of hers and the ones in danger with her now.

A large feeling welled up inside her.

As this ruckus was all caused because of her.

They wouldn't be in danger if this wasn't because of her.

She was the representative of her class. Their leader, the one they counted on and her presence caused them a great deal of pain and harm. She started to doubt herself at that very moment. Scared of what it all meant in the end.

She didn't want to leave and let Aizawa in fending them off. She didn't want people to die because of her. She wanted to fight back and protect those she held dear. Even with this fear of being defeated, she would rather choose that than to run away.

"Midoriya, I said go!" Aizawa repeated, as Izumi didn't listen.

She stood her ground as her hair grew red and the powerful sparks from before returned.

"We could have resolved this peacefully… but oh well." The leader of the villains said as he shrugged and with one turn towards the Nomu…

All hell went loose.

The eyes of the Nomu glowed in a bright red glow, and in one sudden move a beam of superheated light was fired at Aizawa's direction. Everyone's shock was adamant when a blinding flash engulfed Izumi and Aizawa upon where they stood.

**KSHHHAAAAAAANNNNKKKK!**

Himiko who was still mildly conscious managed to shed a tear from that in shock. Tenya who was disabled became very shocked and saddened as the shining bright light continued. He could only watch in terror as his classmates around him saw it happen along with him.

"IZUMI!" Momo screamed as Toru stopped her from going further.

"Aizawa!" Thirteen yelled.

However, as they all felt the terror and hopelessness within themselves settle over the loss of another two people they cared about, a sudden shock was sent to the systems of all those within that area. The beam continued to fire at full force, but in a twist of fate the Nomu was struck by a sudden and very powerful blow.

**THOOM!**

A powerful shockwave of force erupted between the Nomu and its attacker. A shockwave so powerful that it blew a crater on where it stood. With the subsequent shockwave knocking everybody back around it. Even the Gate quirk user wasn't fast enough to usher his colleagues away in the strife. The Nomu flew away from its initial position to a very good distance and as the villains recovered from the strike, the smoke cleared and they saw Izumi standing there with both arms raised and her hands shaking.

Her gym uniform had been massively torn to shreds from her torso and down to her pants, whatever was left that is. Her hair had been singed at the tips with some smoke coming off of her but the sparks of her quirk were still buzzing above. It would have been okay if that was the only damage she took.

However, as everyone saw… the reason her arms were shaking was because of the burns she accumulated on her arms. Massive smoking burns with Izumi tearing slightly at them due to the pain. Her skin was burnt heavily that some smaller areas were blackened by the exchange.

She was shaking at that very moment due to it, collapsing by her knee a second later as she felt her wounds fester. Aizawa, who wasn't as fast towards reacting to the beam looked at Midoriya in horror. Quickly tending to his student as she teared up to her wounds. Her eyes and quirk were still in work and was still giving off an aura that was cancelling the quirks around her vicinity. Although it was smaller this time and those who had a good enough distance away from them already had their abilities back.

Yet the cost of that deflect was still high.

"Midoriya!" Aizawa said as he held her by the shoulders. Seeing the burns on her arm. Some of them already oozing with slight traces of blood and caramelized human matter.

"I-I saved you…" Izumi said, trying to smile but the pain got to her first.

"You damn idiot. I told you to run."

"S-Sorry." Izumi said in a low tone. With the villains looking at the girl in shock. The leader of their squad, Tomura Shigaraki himself felt intimidated at what just occurred.

"Did she just… punch the Nomu away?" the woman who controlled the force spheres going by the name Passione said beside Tomura. The others who were nearby, the Spectrum beam user known only as Acier was enthralled by that scene while his colleague Smokescreen, the one who conjured a variety of thick smoke wasn't deterred. Near Kurogiri the Warp Gate user was the Living Microwave who called himself Scorch and he was fascinated by the exchange.

"Master was right at the hidden potential this girl has… however, I don't think that alone could beat the Nomu head on. Having assimilated quirks that already possess some degree of her own along with others that could beat All Might, I think this has barely begun my friends." Tomura replied.

True enough, as Aizawa was about to help Izumi to standing back up, a large screech was heard from where the Nomu landed meters away. Suddenly a giant pillar of red energy shot up into the domed ceiling above. Breaking the glass as well as some bits of the metal material making up the dome itself.

"Oh God… it did the same thing Midoriya did in the Entrance Exam." Tenya said as they all watched in awe, even Momo herself who had seen the burst of energy from Izumi through the monitors of UA felt a stark feeling of fear embracing her at that moment.

After the discharge, the Nomu leapt into the air towards Izumi and Aizawa's position.

Izumi charged her power up and pushed her homeroom teacher aside as the Nomu landed on her with two arms about to crush her asunder. They made contact yet again, this time allowing Kurogiri to get his colleagues out to safety. Aizawa was only able to leap aside as the small girl met the monster head on.

**THOOM!**

A thunderous roar of red energy circulated between Izumi and the Nomu. With the redhead holding the monster back barely with her injured arms as she tried to keep it away. Its strength was surely greater than hers at that moment and the ground beneath Izumi's already broken shoes gave way and cracked beneath.

"AAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH" she yelled as she tried to charge her arms with the energy to add more defense and power to push it back, but the Nomu simply looked at her and its eyes glowed yet again.

Seeing that moment taking place, Izumi seized the opportunity making her eyes glow bright in red as her vision sense kicked in. As that happened, the ground beside them erupted and two large chunks of the cemented floor levitated in the air and slammed themselves into the Nomu. Preventing it from firing its superheated beam of light.

Izumi, surprised at that new facet of her quirk was stunned for a moment, as the Nomu broke his attack on her and swatted the debris away. Izumi then charged into its chest with a strike. Even with her painfully-injured arms, she gave a punch as strong as she could muster.

**THOOM!**

Another powerful shockwave erupted between the two combatants as the Nomu staggered back. Izumi being cocky tried to muster another attack, only for the Nomu to backhand her, and grab her within arm's reach…

While smashing her to the ground.

"AGH!" Izumi reacted as blood was thrown out her mouth and she felt her ribs breaking to the impact of the attack. Izumi then pummeled her fists into the arm, but after being weakened significantly her strength was not on par with the Nomu. Making the attack feeble within itself.

After coughing a few droplets of blood, Izumi focused herself upon the Nomu with what strength she had, powered by her quirk's red energy she gave in to her instincts and dug her fingers into the Nomu's arm. Suddenly, a pink mist was ejected from her skin and with that small distraction along with the pheromones that made the Nomu calm down for a second, while also making it lose its grip on her momentarily. Izumi then gripped the massive arm and lifted the Nomu over her and smashed the monster into the ground next to her.

**BOOM!**

Chunks of rock were thrown away from their direction as Izumi's smoke dissipated. She once again noticed this new facet of her quirk. Along with those thoughts in place, she had an odd feeling that she recognized these new abilities a bit _too well_. The Nomu then stood up and tried to hit her with a punch. Only for the small redhead girl to intercept it with a block.

The force was so massive that her already injured arms were starting to lose strength with the pressure. Izumi held on and even though she continued to nosebleed from the amount of power her quirk was giving off, she had to relent to keep her classmates and teachers safe.

She just had to.

"Midoriya!" Aizawa said as he ran towards Izumi's position. He uncoiled his scarf towards it as he thought of what to do. He wasn't physically strong to combat the monster head on in an engagement nor was he sure that his quirk could do anything to stop its own abilities. Reason being because if the girl could cancel out his, then this monster could possibly cancel out his quirk as well.

"Mr. Aizawa STOP!" Momo shouted as she created flashbangs and threw it to his direction. Aizawa stopped when a large sphere of deadly energy was thrown in front of him. He then closed his eyes right on time as Yaoyorozu's flashbang went off. The other villains were still in play here.

As he landed he ducked when the villain Smokescreen tried to gas him. Aizawa activated his quirk and kicked the villain in his face, making him stagger back. Another sphere of energy was thrown at him as the woman came closer while levitating. Aizawa turned his attention towards the woman and she fell from where she was hovering, making her land on the ground forcefully.

The other female villain, the one with the hair quirk known as Mercury tried to move her steel-fibered hair towards him. Aizawa narrowly dodged a strand that almost nipped him by the leg. That ssame strand smashed the pavement next to him, making him understand how strong they were. He was about to turn off the quirk of the villain, before Smokescreen stood up and blew a specialized concoction into his face. Aizawa knew the scent and feeling well… it was tear gas, or something close to it.

His eyes instantly became wet with tears as he began coughing. He tried to dodge Mercury's hair strands but the other villain kept on coming at him. As Smokescreen tried to aim for a punch towards his head, Aizawa sidestepped and grabbed the villain's arm. Getting one good look at him while shutting his quirk off and flipped him over and disabling him on the ground. He then snapped the villain's arm while also kicking him in the face. Knocking him out.

Aizawa coughed as his eyes still continued to tear up but he saw the female villain Reyna being harassed by Thirteen with her own quirk. Mercury on the other hand, he saw Momo conjuring what looked like a sword and shield and tried to combat the enemy head on while Kirishima tried to close the distance alongside Ojiro. Aizawa never saw where the others were, but he had to get Midoriya out first.

**THOOM!**

Aizawa then heard Izumi yelp in pain as she tried to hold back the monstrous Nomu with only one arm left. The other badly injured and broken. She was only able to defend herself since she was fast enough and strong enough to intercept some of the blows. Izumi then jumped up towards the Nomu's face as it got its arm stuck on the ground after a strike. She then hopped by its shoulder and gave kick that pushed the Nomu back a few feet away. Much like their exchange of blows earlier, Aizawa saw how powerful in terms of raw strength the girl was. But even with that much power, along with her usage of the quirks he knew that came from both Nemuri and Inko, she was still inexperienced and far too young to engage in this madness alone.

As she gained distance from it, a beam of spectrum light was fired at her direction. Izumi was thrown back much to Aizawa's horror as the other villains joined in on the fight against her. Even the leader of the group was ganging up on her.

"NOO!" Aizawa screamed as he wiped his eyes and threw his scarf towards the nearest villain, that being Scorch and tied him by the neck to stop his deadly microwave emissions. Before he could finish the job, the warp gate user Kurogiri appeared before Aizawa.

"You will not interfere with our business further Eraserhead."

The hero was about to turn off the villain's quirk until his entire misty mass was pulled into another direction behind Aizawa.

"What is this? AGH!" Kirishima suddenly came in and placed a magnet upon the metal material on Kurogiri's neck. The magnet was a small circular neodymium type and it managed to stick as hard as the strongest adhesive. The magnet also had a rope at the end of it and Kirishima placed his legs on the villain's chest and yanked hard.

"PULL!" he yelled as at the end of the rope, Momo who made the materials along with Ojiro and Asui did their best to yank the rope with their own strength keeping the warp gate villain stationary.

"DAMN YOU ALL! UGHH!" Kurogiri angrily said as Aizawa looked at Thirteen.

"GO! I got the others to get the two injured ones out to find help. You get Midoriya while we hold these guys off!" Thirteen said as she opened more openings on her fingertips, sucking Kurogiri in as he tried to escape. The other villains were disabled but Izumi was being overwhelmed still.

"Just surrender yourself girl! You've already hurt yourself badly at this point and prolonging it will not result in your victory!" Tomura said as the Nomu smashed the ground next to Izumi who barely escaped from it. The spectrum beam user fired at Izumi yet again as she landed but she tanked the blast and charged forward, charging her foot with energy and slammed upwards into the villain's groin.

"FUCK!" he cursed.

Izumi then kicked him away. She then saw the Nomu about to hit her with a downwards slam, but she ducked in time with her waning speed managed to catch the large monster's fist yet again as her feet buckled to the impact. Her bones nearly snapping at that hit.

**THOOM!**

The ground beneath her cracked yet again as she tried to hold back the Nomu with her injured arm that was the only one she could use at that very moment. She was going to counterattack, but her limp arm was caught in the hands of Tomura who had four of his fingers placed on it. Izumi instantly felt a sensation of pain as her already burnt skin started to wilt.

She screamed making her lose her focus on stopping the Nomu's attack. Seeing this opportunity taking place, Tomura kicked her in abdomen. With the Nomu following up with another strike. Izumi was blown back and crashed on the ground a few feet away. A crater was formed as her landing was hard. As hard as she tried to fight back, her body was giving up on her.

Even with the power of her quirk surging in her arms and legs, it was not enough when her body itself was overwhelmed and broken beyond simple injuries alone. Blood started to spill from her mouth in a continuous fashion as her pain was too much that most of her body went numb and weak. She was dizzy as she tried to stand up only for a shadow to darken her position.

She rolled out of the way in time as the large hulking Nomu which had no visible damage within it collided on where she lay a few seconds ago. Izumi held her limp arm as she backed away slightly. Near them, Tomura smiled within his hidden visage as he circled Izumi. The Nomu calmed down for a bit as she began to have ragged breaths. Her power also waning with one of her eyes close to shutting and her other with a weakened color of red within them. The sparks that came out the top of her head were also reduced and she was only clinging on to whatever was left within her body's capacity to fight.

But she had to fight. She had to make sure the others are safe. Regardless of the cost.

"You should heed my offer already girl. You're far too injured to continue. You will not survive even with the power and potential inside of you. The Nomu is barely damaged at all and will never fall under your hands. It's best you give up and besides we don't want to kill you… you're far too valuable alive than dead." Tomura said.

Izumi didn't answer but she gritted her teeth and charged herself up yet again.

"Oh well… At the very least I'll leave enough of you that's useful for us. You'll be alive still, but don't expect kindness from here on out…" he then looked at the monstrosity about to attack the redhead girl. "Nomu, finish this."

Izumi clenched her bleeding fist as it sparked in red energy and as the Nomu was about to charge…

An explosion erupted. An explosion that would have come from a canon being fired somewhere.

**BOOM!**

The Nomu was staggered back and Tomura was wrapped by Aizawa's scarf as Ojiro and Kirishima came close to Izumi. Izumi, weakened too much was ecstatic seeing her classmates along with Momo and Asui manning the canon the Creation Quirk girl created.

"You okay?" Kirishima asked as he stood in front of Izumi, looking behind him as he readied himself. Izumi smiled meekly at the two as Ojiro held her steady.

"I-I've been through worse… b-but this hurts like hell. So thanks." She said to the both of them.

"We'll get you out of here." Kirishima replied as he put his guard up.

"Where's T-Tenya and Miko?" Izumi asked.

"Uraraka and the others got them out to send for help as well. They're okay Midoriya." Kirishima reassured but their little talk was interrupted when Tomura spoke out again.

"You really are U.A. Students, beating my comrades even with how young are. But I'm afraid that will all be futile, as the Nomu here was designed to fight All Might, surely none of you are strong enough to hold it back…" Tomura turned to Izumi who was behind Kirishima. "Even you."

"Don't listen to him Midoriya. Just get out of here, you and your classmates. We'll try to hold them off." Aizawa said as he signaled Thirteen behind him who just finished taking care of the woman with the hair quirk while also keeping Kurogiri in place.

"GET OUT. NOW!" he yelled as he entangled Tomura completely and tried to heave him towards the Nomu. The Nomu was about to save its master, only for another canon shot to hit it in the face. Tomura bounced off of the Nomu and landed next to it in a less than ideal fashion, but he was okay regardless. The real problem was the Nomu's eyes glowing bright again.

"DAMN IT MIDORIYA! GET EVERYONE OUT NOW!" Aizawa said as he leapt towards it trying to shut its quirk off only to be backhanded with its speed. Kirishima and Ojiro watched as the Nomu faced them with its glowing eyes.

"NO!" Thirteen shouted, but as it happened Tsuyu managed to elongate her tongue far enough to grab them three out of there as the beam fired.

**KSHHHAAAAAAANNNNKKKK!**

The Nomu then followed their trajectory as its beam caught up. As Tsuyu caught them all to their position, Momo quickly placed a large enough reflective panel to make the beam split off. Kirishima helped her to shield them but instead of bouncing off, the panel they made cracked and broke apart. Kirishima and Momo both got burned slightly when the panel broke, they would have been incinerated on spot if it weren't for Izumi who moved them aside quickly and blocked the shot with her back.

"AAAAAAGGGHHH!" Izumi yelled in pain as the beam scorched her back.

The beam subsided, leaving a singed Izumi on the spot as she crouched on all fours bearing the damage and pain all together. Momo opened her eyes after being knocked out for a second and saw her friend and classmate bleeding all over with a smoking and badly burnt back. Her Gym uniform now in tatters, showing off her own body in a bloodied and injured manner. Momo caught her in time when she was about to collapse on the ground, with the slow and thundering footsteps of the Nomu about to get to them. Kirishima was still knocked out as Ojiro ran in and stood in front of Momo and Izumi.

"Get them out of here Asui!" he said but before they could do anything further, Izumi put a hand on his shoulder. Determination to save her classmates still within her eyes and soul. Momo kept her steady as she and Tsuyu saw the damage done to her. They both wanted her out of there now but how were they to run if this monster was as strong as Izumi and All Might altogether?

What hope was there for them to live through that day?

"Y-You run… all of you. I-I'll hold it back." Izumi weakly said.

"Are you crazy? Look at you! You're barely holding on." Ojiro replied.

"He's right Izumi, you have to stop or…" tears came down on Momo's cheeks. "Or you'll die for God's sake! I-I don't want you to die…" she pleaded. Izumi smiled at her at how much with what little time they had that she and Momo got along as close friends.

"Midoriya. You have to listen to reason. We need you alive." Tsuyu said as they saw Aizawa use his scarf and tried to bind the neck of the Nomu. He bought them time with whatever he could do, but they all saw it as futile. There was no stopping the monster. No stopping the villains from doing what they wanted. They were only high school kids after all.

But to Izumi, they weren't. With whatever spark she had that fought the years of bullying, the years of pain from having no quirk, and the years of unspoken hardship she went through, she would fight it all to fulfill her purpose. On being a hero.

She did not need to be as popular as All Might, nor did she want to.

She only wanted to save people and as her mother told her, being a hero was a risk in the real world. But it was a risk she was willing to sacrifice her own life on. All Might taught her to never surrender, and her mother taught her to know the consequences of choices we take in life.

This was her choice, and even though it would be painful to leave her loved ones behind…

At the very least she knew that she did it her all.

"T-Thank you guys… B-but if I don't do something, Mr. Aizawa will die. You will all die. I-I don't want that to happen." She said with dry tears on her injured face. She smiled at her classmates as she saw how horrified and afraid they were. The special girl of Class 1-A smiled at them at the possible end of her journey and before they could protest, Izumi charged off.

With the cries of disbelief and sadness behind her.

"AAAARRGGHH!" Aizawa said as his bones on both arms were snapped by the Nomu who pummeled him to the ground. Tomura was close as well with Thirteen still holding the other villains busy, even though it was becoming more and more futile with each second passing.

"AIZAWA!" she then saw Kurogiri about to break her hold on him along with the villains they defeated earlier coming back up to help their comrades. The situation became dire and Thirteen hoped that someone would come soon. That someone would save them, not for her and Aizawa but for someone to save the students.

"What did I tell you? The Nomu is designed to combat All Might you fool! You wouldn't get a chance in hell fighting it head on like dumb animal. I understand you're desperate, but it's futile now. We will get the girl. One way or the other and you won't be alive to see it." Tomura said as the Nomu held him down. Aizawa was spilling blood from his mouth as he saw Tomura's hand about to be placed on his face. With one prolonged touch, he would wither out of existence.

He closed his eyes, trying to man up and hoped to himself that he bought as much time.

Hope was lost at that very moment if he failed to do so.

**THOOM!**

An energy streak of red light was slammed into the Nomu, breaking his grip on Aizawa while Tomura was also blown away. They landed a few feet off from where he was and everyone saw the injured Izumi Midoriya shaking where she stood standing her ground on the Nomu who recovered quickly.

Aizawa, while injured himself had his eyes wide open as his student once again saved him. Only for the next few moments to happen. With eyes wide along with the rest of the people that knew Izumi during that moment, only horror was abundant on their faces…

When Izumi simply smiled slightly…

With the Nomu grabbing her, and slamming her to the ground. While inevitably hitting her over and over again with such speeds that they deemed to be far faster than Izumi's own. They all watched in terror as blood continued to spurt out with each hit, with her entire body broken and bullied to submission. The sounds of punching and blood would haunt them for years to come at that very moment. Silencing only when the Nomu stopped.

With its fists full of blood.

No words could describe the horror they all witnessed. Momo's tears made her kneel as Ojiro who was similarly saddened stood beside her. She cried into the side of his waist while Tsuyu teared up while holding an unconscious Kirishima. Thirteen was speechless and Aizawa who had his eyes open during that moment could only watch in silence.

Tomura and the other villains who recovered (except Kurogiri who was handled by Thirteen) moved close towards the crater the Nomu buried with the girl inside of it. The Nomu stood by as Tomura looked at the battered Izumi who was laying there close to death.

"Can your master still accept her like this Tomura?" Reyna asked.

"She's good enough in a condition we can take her. My master will understand."

With that said they turned their attention to Thirteen in order to get Kurogiri out.

"Our job here is done. We must clean our mess and leave." Tomura said as his comrades nodded.

…

Deep within the currently blank space of her mind the presence that made her scared of her own power appeared and even though she was unconscious, the girl felt its presence drifting into her mindscape.

_**SUCCUMB.**_

It was different than her. Driven purely by instinct, driven with the will to live and _**SUSTAIN.**_

Izumi was scared, but she wanted to protect her friends… she wanted them alive.

And as scared as she was, she let the presence consume her.

It was her quirk still… but something was different. Something…

_**SINISTER.**_

She felt her body again suddenly. With a new urge within that made her thoughts irrelevant.

_**ALL SHE WANTED WAS TO CONSUME…**_

_** TO RAZE…**_

And it was time to do so.

…

"Nomu, lift her up. It's time we leave." Tomura said as he looked at the girl's limp form. They would need to dispatch the others later and call back the other three comrades that worked on the more 'troublesome' students of the class. Now the only thing left to do was get rid of Thirteen.

**KRRZZT…**

Tomura stopped. He and his comrades stopped in their tracks. Aizawa and the rest who were there still watching were suddenly confused at what was happening. The Nomu moved closer with its eyes glowing again to try and subdue the girl if she fought back. Yet they only saw a near-dead body not moving in the slightest at all.

However, that sound made them nervous. Even Tomura.

"Nomu. Get her now before-

A tendril of black energy erupted from the ground behind the Nomu and pierced its chest easily with one forceful strike. Blood had been sprayed at those who were near as the Nomu screeched in pain. Then, two more tendrils erupted from the ground and pierced both arms of the monster and snapped its bones without effort. The tendrils then threw the Nomu away and vanished into the ground as fast as they appeared. Tomura then saw the body of Izumi Midoriya being enveloped by a blinding flash of red energy sparking in full life like lightning surging all around her on the ground.

Then it exploded… into a nightmarish pillar of red light and lightning that crackled high above the sky that even the entirety of Japan could see. The energy was strong that the surge continued to crackle and caused the clouds to surge with lightning and thunder. Making the air humid as small particiles floated around the presence of the light.

Tomura and his comrades were blown back being so close to the event horizon. Aizawa and the other could only watch in awe as the pillar of light dissipated. Tomura opened his eyes as he tried to stand up from the sudden event.

Then… they all saw it.

Within the place where Izumi Midoriya once stood, was now replaced with something far, far different. Even Tomura was speechless himself seeing it up close. With his mind becoming maddened and scared at what he was perceiving. Crackles of red lightning surged from here and there. All of their eyes went to Izumi. Vein-Red like energy surged into areas of her face and entire body. Her arms, her back and legs spawned multiple Black-Whip like tendrils ionized and energized by crackling Red energy. Her hair had been darkened significantly with energy crackling like a generator on overdrive. Her eyes, much to everyone's horror turned into a murderous, bloodthirsty state as it glowed in crimson beset by intensely glowing yellow irises. The air around her shimmered as where she stood, dust, debris, and other objects levitated in the air. Red Crackling Lightning was surrounding her as her image transformed from the confident and lovable Izumi into what looked like an unrecognizable monster in female form.

Her skin was dark red and she stood there motionless with the tendrils of Black Energy swaying wildly in the air. The demoness had been unleashed in its partial, yet pure form.

"Is that… Izumi?" Tsuyu said.

Aizawa and Thirteen, unable to comprehend what they were seeing were now presented with what could possibly be the whole reason why the girl's quirk was so dangerous in the first place.

The Nomu who was thrown away earlier jumped back near Tomura's position.

Roaring at the new figure it saw in its presence. Its own red energy a mere weak imitation to what Izumi was giving out. The emotionless girl never moved in her stead as the Nomu roared.

Izumi who was wholly transfixed on the Nomu and those endangering her classmates. Her eyes greedily looking at them, as if they were food to consume. One by one she could sense their quirks. One by one, instinct gave her the motive to **CONSUME.**

Then it happened.

**"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" **

The inhuman scream from her was heard by everyone. The depth and horror of the voice she let out was not missed as the deafening cry shook the entire complex.

They simply stared in awe and horror as Izumi stopped...

And suddenly charged.

With no person in the area able to stop her onslaught and Agony's Embrace was unleashed.

With the battle becoming something else entirely.

* * *

…

"DIE YOU FUCKER!" Katsuki yelled as he charged at one of the villains.

Explosions rattled one of the areas within the USJ. Katsuki Bakugou was fighting off three other villains with his classmates that were taken with him along by the Warp Gate user. They were thrown violently in this smaller, compact urban zone that simulated storms and bad weather conditions. They were all thrown into smaller groups with each other but managed to reconvene with the help of one blue-haired girl with a nanobot-based quirk. However, as formidable as the abilities of their group together were, they weren't prepared towards the three skilled and powerful villains that was aiming to kill them within each moment that passed.

It had been a narrow battle so far, with one of them having a sort of invulnerability quirk related to his blood, another with a disruption quirk that caused nearby equipment and tech to malfunction or lose connection, and one other villain that could touch and absorb his surroundings, making him as hard or as dense as the material his skin comes in contact with.

**BOOM!**

Katsuki panted as he made one large explosion upon one of the enemies they were fighting against. The smoke cleared much to his dismay and he saw the villain with the invulnerability quirk smiling at him with his exposed flesh trickling with blood.

"Aren't you stupid kid? I can't be hurt by your little fireworks!"

He then tried to grab Katsuki until a wall of ice emerged between them.

"It didn't work idiots! That was the strongest blast I can make." Katsuki screamed back to Shoto who had just helped him from being attacked. Kyouka was unconscious being held on to by Satou and Sero while the others protected their position. Mina and Kaminari were trying to fight the absorption quirk user but to no avail as he kept shifting and shifting into materials that were counters to their quirks. Shadowing the two villains was the disruption user, He kept Sylvia from forming her natural nanofibers into functioning devices for them to use. He was the reason as well for making communications within the outside world impossible. Tokoyami and his Dark Shadow were helping Shoto and Katsuki fend off the trickiest and deadliest member of the three and they didn't have success over it at all.

"Freezing him isn't helping either. His blood is boiling to such extremities that he thaws it clean before we can do anything." Shoto observed. The ice then broke as Tokoyami and Katsuki jumped back from a safe distance.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Aren't you little brats U.A. students? You're nothing more than punks to me!" he angrily raged as his muscles became more and more denser and harder with each attack thrown at him. He charged at them with his tongue out in rage and excitement. His body pulsating with as much adrenaline and power with each movement.

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami ordered his quirk to delay the villain. They clashed on spot, making the ground underneath the villain's feet to crack but even though they were in a shaded place, Dark Shadow's power was still minimal compared to the force this villain was holding.

"I can't hold him for long. You guys have to help me!" he warned.

"Hey you burnt ass. You're a Todoroki right? Then why don't you use your fucking flame at the bastard? We're getting our assess handed here!" Katsuki said to Shoto who simply frowned at his request.

"Doing that much flame towards it isn't going to help. If that amount of explosives you're carrying isn't enough to break him or stop him, then I doubt using my other side will help." Shoto angrily replied.

"WE CAN'T JUST LET THIS ASSHOLE WIN YOU STUPID FUCK!"

"Then give us a plan to stop it if you're that confident with yourself." Shoto replied as they looked at each other in a standstill. With Tokoyami's quirk barely holding back the villain.

"Guys! This isn't the time!" Tokoyami who was naturally quiet said out aloud towards the two who were near to the point of hitting each other.

"HAHAHA, you're all fighting amongst yourselves now huh? This is easier than I thought!" the villain said as he laughed in excitement and shoved Dark Shadow away. Overpowering him as his muscles tensed. He charged while Shoto shot out his ice to entomb the villain.

"Bakugou now!" he said as Katsuki ran at the villain.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he then jammed his hand into the villain's face and made it explode.

**BOOM!**

Meanwhile, Kaminari was now slowly regressing into his less intelligent side as he used too much of his quirk trying to leer away their opponent. With Katsuki and the others defending their rear, it was up to him and Mina to try and protect Kyouka who was unconscious with Satou coming in should the villain come close.

"Kaminari! Line up your shots better, he was metal a just a second ago!" Mina said as the villain kept dodging her acid.

"I-I'm trying! I-I'm not good at this yet you know." Kaminari said as he saw the villain hide behind the lamppost. With the simulated rainy weather above, it made his focus less stable because of him being wet and the artificial thunder above.

**KKRRRZZZZZZTT!**

"Watch out!" Mina said as Kaminari missed his attack with the villain throwing a boulder at him. The blonde dodged as the villain now came charging at Mina. Having little combat training but having experience in dancing. She narrowly dodged a blade-like appendage the villain spawned within his arm when he absorbed the steel of the car near Mina. However, as the villain tried to hit her a second time, Mina's arm was clipped by its side.

"AGH!" She aimed her arms towards its face only for the villain to kick her in the stomach.

She flew back with Kaminari catching her. Only for them to both crash on the ground.

"Ow." Kaminari said as Mina was on top of her.

"Get off me idiot!" Mina scrambled towards the blonde.

"Jeez, calm down! You're hot and all but- OW!" she elbowed him for that comment.

"FOCUS!" she yelled as the villain closed the distance towards them. Having nowhere to hide, Kaminari moved Mina aside and surged his electricity.

**KKRRRZZZZZZTT!**

It would have worked, if only the enemy didn't touch the one of the broken bricks of a wall next to them. He was struck at first by the side of his body, but since the rest was now hardened material close to rock, his body became a ground for the electricity to bounce off.

"Got you!" Mina said as she aimed her quirk at the villain's face.

"AGH! You damned kids!" He angrily said as he ran away to safety again.

"We managed to hit him!" Mina celebrated but she lost her excitement when she saw Kaminari sitting on the ground with a dumbed expression on his face. Sparks of electricity up his head like he went through a haywire.

"I wish Izumi was here." She whispered to herself.

Moving to another close location, was Sylvia and Shouji. Being unable to use her quirk, she and Shouji tried to combat the villain up close and personal. Things weren't really to their favor as Sylvia noted that the one they were fighting was good at defending himself at well even without a quirk.

Holding a Metal Bo Staff, the crazed eyeglass wearing villain with antennae on his ears smiled at them. Sylvia and Shouji stood by a few feet away as their attacks weren't making any ground to begin with.

"I must say… you two are really good. I haven't had a good fight like this in ages. Especially you, girl… have you had training outside of the school? Your suspiciously good at this." He lamented. Sylvia glared at her opponent as she looked at Shouji. Who was apparently good at understanding Morse Code given the many uses of his quirk, particularly his hearing. Sylvia gave him a few statements through the blinks of her eyes and he could decipher them as fast as he could as they hit behind a wall together.

_We need to knock him out cold. Otherwise I can't use my quirk to contact the others outside…_

"How do we do that though?" he said through one of the mouths he conjured.

_He's good at gaining distance between his attackers. Even if we gang up on him he's good enough to disperse us into a one on one situation. We need to force him to stay in place._

"Have any ideas?"

Sylvia looked at their surroundings. Seeing a metal bar sticking out of one of the destroyed walls.

_Can you bend steel fast enough?_

The villain waited as the rains above continued to pour on the broken roof of the building they were in. He looked up wondering if the others outside had finished their mission. Since it was taking an awful long time for Kurogiri to pick them all up. They weren't successful at beating and killing these kids yet, but the mission's priority was enough that they would leave should they get the girl already.

He then heard a tapping of feet upon the wet floor.

Raising his guard, he saw the blue-haired girl charge at her. She went through on the offensive, using as much pressure and speed she could muster with her flurry of attacks. He went on the defensive countering with as much speed as the girl had while also counter-attacking with his staff. However, the girl was a master at dodging his hits. There were times were his staff could come in contact, but the girl was good enough to have that happen as little as possible.

Sylvia was about to attack his exposed upper torso when the villain swept her feet off with his staff. Sylvia fell to the ground but not being deterred from that, she made her legs to latch on to his opponent's foot and made him lose his balance. He fell to the floor only for Shouji to come up behind and tie him with the metal bar. Having trapped in his predicament, the villain tried to grab a device on his pocket that would blind the two with a flash.

However, Shouji managed to headbutt him in time for him to turn his quirk off.

"Ugh…" he said in dazed fashion. Shouji had let go of the villain and with her quirk returning to her, Sylvia smiled as she formed a large mechanical fist on her right arm and attacked him with one powerful punch.

**THOOM!**

Unconscious, the girl absorbed her quirk back as they looked at the villain who was at the ground with a small crater on where his head lied. Sylvia didn't kill him, but the bastard was tougher than they expected so they knew that he would survive.

What became important was that they had communications back.

Transforming her arm into a communicator with powerful range, she gave out a message of SOS towards any nearby person within the area. The UA staff would pick it up immediately. Buried in the code was also an encrypted message towards Nemain, asking her to hurry up and help them.

"Did you get the comms back?" Shouji asked.

Sylvia smiled with a nod as her arm returned back to normal. The only thing left was to help the others downstairs who were protecting an unconscious Kyouka.

"We should move down and help them. Especially Bakugou and the rest, the villain they're fighting is probably the one we all need focus our efforts on." He said. Sylvia once again nodded as she looked at their defeated opponent. She coded him to grab him while they leave as the possibility of him being a problem again was high.

But at that very moment, the group of Class 1-A students fighting the villains inside this part of the USJ were about to encounter something else.

As Shouji was going to grab their unconscious enemy, the domed ceiling of this zone suddenly stopped raining. The artificial clouds dissipated completely and the thunder and sounds of lightning fizzled out from the speakers.

Then… they felt the earth shake violently.

Shouji and Sylvia looked up. As well as the others downstairs who had their initial conflict halted. Kyouka was getting conscious as they all saw their surroundings become quiet.

"What was that?" Shouji said. Sylvia's eyes widened when suddenly a large part of the domed ceiling exploded. Shouji shielded her to a nearby wall as debris and steel frames were blown high above them. Followed by the powerful blast was a blinding flash of red energy sparking around like lightning across the smoke.

Shoto slid across nabbing Tokoyami away to safety as Katsuki looked up.

Mina dragged Kaminari close towards Satou and Kyouka as everything around them trembled. With the sound of thunder and streaks of red lightning across their heads.

"W-What's happening?" Kyouka said in fear.

Mina felt the sensation that this was something she has seen before as she huddled close to her classmates in safety.

After that they heard a screech.

A deafening cry of something wailing into the wind. The smoke cleared and the Nomu was thrown into the ground close towards Katsuki and the villain they were fighting. The Nomu crashed and burned right down as the explosive blonde covered his face from the carnage. Everyone saw it up close, and before Katsuki could even fight it he noticed that the Nomu was heavily injured, bleeding and had numerous broken bones across its body. Along with its sparking red energy weakened and its torso full of holes like someone had stabbed on it repeatedly.

**KKKKKRRRRRZZZZZAAASSHHH!**

Suddenly a wave of red streaks of energy surged forward from all directions. Objects started to levitate around them and as everyone looked up, within the heart of the disturbance, was a red female figure floating in the air. Tendrils of Black Energy flailing wildly across its entire body. Her skin was purely in dark red. Her eyes brightly flashing and her hair moving wildly as if it had a mind on its own. It was focused on the new prey it saw and below Katsuki, there was the Nomu.

"Deku?" Katsuki said, and again for the first time in his life he felt fear.

As all who saw her did in that very moment.

She opened her mouth and let out another ear-deafening cry. Then in a close second, she barreled down upon the Nomu. Smashing herself on the ground at it.

**BOOM!**

** "**AARGGHH!" Katsuki flew away as a powerful explosion with a red shockwave of energy blew him back. He was caught by Dark Shadow as he and Shoto along with Tokoyami braced behind a wall. The force and pressure exerted by the shockwave was so large that it rivalled a small powerful earthquake. The others as well were bracing for their lives as debris and other objects in the result of the blast were thrown across all directions.

Tendrils of red energy surged towards the area. Hitting everyone at will.

Even their classmates. While they did not ultimately harm them, each person within the zone had their noses bleeding from the effect of the energy hitting them. Kyouka and the others watched in horror as the smoke cleared. Revealing a rampaging demon-like entity smashing her head over and over towards the Nomu's body. With each hit making them go further and further into the ground.

**THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!**

It then lifted the Nomu with by one hand and smashed him into the closest dummy car. Smashing it completely. She then played him around like a ragdoll as her black energy tendrils grabbed on to its foot. It slammed him into the nearby buildings as the ground shook. Rampaging like a predator trying to kill its prey who was resisting.

It made the everyone around nervous as they watched the carnage while hiding.

"Is that Izumi?" Kyouka said.

"Why is she acting like that?" Satou said in fear.

_So this is why you were afraid Midoriya… _Shoto thought as he looked at the battle-, no a massacre towards the enemy that barely even fought back. Only played by the rampaging beast that was their classmate. Even Katsuki was left speechless. He then recalled the time Izumi nearly choked him to death, was this the possible outcome? When she lost control over her powers? Was she trying to hold back on him before losing control?

"I've seen how Dark Shadow is when it's on a rampage. But I don't think it comes close to this at all." Tokoyami said.

"What are we going to do?" Shoto said.

No one was able to answer that. Not even Sylvia who with Shouji watched on in fear. Sylvia in particular, now understanding completely why the girl was important to her mistress along with why Juno kept so many secrets about the girl's quirk to all of them.

Even though she knew the full story…

She was far too transfixed with her experiment upon Midoriya that she would simply watch it all unfold with a smile on her face as the world buckles to the truth of this anomaly.

She gulped in fear. Hoping she was wrong in thinking that.

The Red Demon slammed the Nomu one last time on the ground as it walked over it like a viper seeing if the prey had died to its venom. Everything around her was levitating partially with the pure emanating aura of dread, hunger, and power consuming everything around it.

Suddenly, one of the villains foolish enough to attack her charged at her at full force.

The one with the invulnerability quirk.

Its eyes looked at him with hunger.

A red-violet aura within its vision sense, _**Iron Curtain… **_

The man charged only for her to turn to its attention and slammed its foot on the ground. Much to everyone's shock, a pillar of ice suddenly surged upon the cracks. Completely entombing the villain with ice within seconds.

Shoto along with his classmates felt their faces pale in complexion

"Todoroki… wasn't that- Tokoyami never finished his sentence as they all watched the villain try to escape and charged yet again at the slightly less taller girl. Suddenly a pink mist had manifested itself, making the villain slow his movements down until he halted, with his entire body stopped by an invisible force. He levitated a few inches from the ground while being unable to move. He stared down into her without fear as the girl levitated herself slightly to meet his eyes.

He then felt his quirk turning off.

And he was rendered defenseless. She then suddenly grabbed both side of his head as the villain felt a surreal sense of fear in his mind and body as a ripple of powerful red energy surged into him. Consuming his quirk into her own.

"Wait… is she going to kill him?" Mina said in fear.

"No… Izumi wouldn't do that!" Kyouka said.

Then as it all happened, another one of the villains came out the one with the absorption quirk and was about to attack her, only for him to be swatted away by one of her tendrils.

She then proceeded to consume her prey that she was holding… until a voice stopped her.

"DEKU!"

All eyes went to Katsuki who stood a few feet away from her and while he was scared about this. He needed to do this in order to snap her out of it.

She on the other hand, could only sense another prey item to be consumed, and she wanted it. Badly. They stood there in a stalemate looking at each other and Katsuki knew that he was in a point of no return.

* * *

…

"Is he insane?" Tokoyami said as he tried to get Katsuki out of there, only for Shoto to stop him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's see what happens first. We move if this goes south." Shoto said, though rather cautious and a bit angry that the explosive blonde chose to come out at this very moment. Where things took a very dangerous turn into the worst. He was also worried for might happen, because if Izumi could take out that many villains with very little resistance and effort, then they may very well won't turn out the same. He was scared to even say that his bastard father was no match for her. As she could use ice to a degree that he wasn't sure of, although considering the level her abilities were in he was afraid to give a proper assessment. If at all for that matter…

Katsuki who walked slowly towards the now inhuman looking girl felt fear ebbing into his body and soul. The sheer weight of the force exerted around her was enough to make everyone high tail out of there. However, he knew that the girl wasn't a monster and he took a chance with it. Otherwise if he doesn't make the others see what kind of threat they were in, they would all die at that very moment. It was a selfless act to begin with, and while it didn't settle within him to save his classmates to this degree, he still felt that need to do it.

The villain however who was stuck to Izumi's hands was weakened beyond measure. His once rampaging assault had been reduced to nothing within entering the radius around her. He felt pain surge into his limp body when the girl came in contact with her skin through her hands. He felt like something had been taken from him completely but he was far too dazed to think about it.

The girl on the other hand when she saw Katsuki, she lost some of the grip she had on the prey item she held and completely let go of him. His body falling to the ground in a limp state. Energy coursing through her veins as she walked near towards him. Eyeing him with her vision sense and acknowledging the unconsumed quirk the boy had within him.

Katsuki could see Izumi's eyes looking at him like a mad hungry dog ready to devour anything within its reach. Even the way how she moved closer and closer gave off that feeling of dread that surmounted him with each step. She had stopped levitating for him, he wondered why but the real concern was that it seemed she wanted to take her time with him.

A bad sign considering what predatory animals do when they acted that way.

After taking another step closer, Katsuki made his hands glow partially to make her stop. He only gave out a controlled small burst within his hands to stop himself from aggravating her at this range but enough to make her stop shy of a few feet away from him.

"DEKU! Stop fooling around. I thought you loved those stupid bastards within our class. You care for them more than anyone could. So, stop acting like a deranged villain and help us get out of here." He said, minimizing his usual swears at her to hopefully put reason within her now crazed state.

The girl however merely tilted her head at him.

She took another step.

"DEKU! STOP! What the hell are you doing coming closer to me?" he said as he aimed one of his gauntlets at her just in case. But he was unsure what good they would do. She never responded, only stepping closer where she was now almost two feet away. The aura she gave out making his legs buckle with a strange energy being forced on his body, like gravity becoming far intense than usual.

"I SAID STOP!" he said as Izumi raised her hand.

"I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS DAMN IT!" he said while recalling the girl she talked to earlier that day. The same girl that was flustered and shy at his truce offering and challenge. All of those who watched were scared to think of it that way as well as they all remembered the always smiling Izumi now replaced by something like this.

"DEKU!" he said as Izumi suddenly took hold of his hand that was aimed at her.

He wanted to use his quirk right then and there but he couldn't do it. As much as he wanted to hate the girl with how much she stole other people's attention, he never really wanted to kill her nor even think that way. Suddenly it became hard seeing her this way, recalling how stupidly kind she was towards him and how she always looked at him like a friend more so than anyone in the world.

At that very moment he recalled how scared she was of her own quirk. How she cried about it while being alone sitting against a tree in the gardens of UA.

"DAMN IT!" He said as his voice filled with frustration said as Izumi looked straight at him.

Izumi, unperturbed let out her black energy tendrils and was about to grab him until a wall of ice appeared between them.

"Get him out!" Shoto said as Tokoyami's Dark Shadow grabbed a surprised Katsuki away as Shoto readied himself behind the ice. He looked at Katsuki and the others behind until the ice exploded. With an angry rampaging demoness behind it.

Shoto was about to fight back until Izumi instantly closed the distance between them with her speed. He felt himself in the forefront of danger until someone shouted behind him.

"Todoroki get down!" Mina shouted as behind her, with her jacks connected to Sylvia's Sonic Emitter construct they fired. Shoto jumped out of the way as the wave of pure sound was fired at her.

**REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

The sound waves pushed her back as Izumi put her hands upon her ears. Only for her to expand the moving black tendrils around her and accurately broke Sylvia's armament within seconds. The rest of Class 1-A dodged her assault as the waves of sound stopped.

Shoto once again froze the ground below her. Making it stop by her feet as the girl turned at him.

He raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture to make her stop.

"Midoriya, I don't know if you can hear me in this state but you have to stop. You're endangering the safety of everyone around you. Including us."

The Ice below her broke immediately.

"Izumi, you're not like this. So please calm down and stop." Another voice called out, it was Kyouka whom Izumi knew very well coming into UA. The girl never seemed to get what they were saying, as the only thing within its mindset currently was the need to sate its hunger.

"Midoriya! Listen to us!" Shoto once again said.

Izumi turned at him once more, only for something else to break the tension.

A Force Sphere was hurled at her direction. Izumi simply aimed her hand towards it, catching it at the last minute. A blinding flash of light manifested within contact of the two. After that they saw that the Sphere was suddenly now glowing in a red color and with an ear-deafening cry the sphere was hurled back. The members of Class 1-A within the vicinity took cover, with Shoto making an ice wall high enough to shelter them.

**BOOM!**

Izumi seeing where the sphere came from leapt with great speeds towards her target within a few meters away from them. Where the villains were evacuating their comrades through Kurogiri's portals. Tomura and Reyna who fired one of her spheres at her was met head on by the holder of Agony's Embrace as she crashed close to them.

"Get them out of there, we'll hold her off." Tomura said as Kurogiri nodded before disappearing.

The girl with great speed charged at Reyna like a mad dog. She was defeated almost instantly when Izumi swatted her away with her black tendrils. Tomura moved backwards as his comrades tried their best to fend the monster off.

One by one they fell by her hand easily.

Leaving Tomura to stand there as his comrades tried to recover. It was pointless, he thought as they tried to overpower her earlier with the help of the Nomu only to arrive at a realization that this was a futile effort. Far, far more futile than their previous predictions and plans. He felt like a child again, helpless as he watched the girl about to attack her once more.

He hated losing. He hated being beaten back and proved wrong by other people.

Yet the worst feeling at that very situation was that of fear that came upon his body.

The Nomu was given part of her DNA, but it was a pale imitation of what the original holder was. Now he understood well why this subject was deemed interesting by his master. For the girl was far beyond than their wildest dreams could comprehend.

She was the perfect weapon. The perfect weapon to end everything.

He angrily ran at the girl with no care about himself as rage was the only thing left within him. If he was to die at that very moment, then he had to at least prove to his master that he wasn't a coward. As he came close, the girl merely held him by the throat without him even perceiving how fast she got hold of him. Sparking energy of red color danced around them like illuminating the dreadful situation he was in. He put his hand on the girl's arm. Only to see that his quirk was only making her skin smoke. With it being healed faster than he could harm it.

He felt himself closer to death at that very moment until another attempt at combating her done by his comrades rose. Yet again, their efforts were clearly futile as the black hole of energy that the girl possessed overpowered and consumed all its enemies within its vicinity.

On the other side of the conflict her classmates watched as it all happened way from them.

"She didn't even seem to understand what we tried to tell her earlier." Tokoyami said.

"What can even do to stop her at this rate? She's far more powerful than anything I've ever seen before. Even…" Shouji said, hesitant to say the next set of words. They already knew what he implied to say. Some of them even wondering what Izumi's quirk was exactly, and why it held so much power than any quirk they have faced before.

Shoto thought of it as well, deeply in fact as the ballet of death seemed to enjoy the amount of destruction it was causing from where they were. He then turned to Katsuki, trying to see what he felt at that very situation. He was quiet at that moment, not even watching as his attention was locked upon his very own hands. Shoto could understand why, but something caught his attention. There was blood on his gloves and gauntlet. Blood on his chest. He didn't seem to have any injuries from earlier of with the encounter with Izumi but where could that blood have come from?

A dark thought manifested itself in his head as he looked in fear at his own clothes and arms.

There was blood there as well. He looked at the trail where Izumi came from and again…

There was blood.

Trickles of blood everywhere. Even Mina had traces on it her clothes. The carnage and awe when they first saw Izumi like this made them unaware of what was truly happening. He then recalled what the girl experiences after long periods of using her own quirk back then.

"We need to stop her." Shoto said making eyes to turn at him.

"Are you crazy?" Kaminari said.

"Look at the ground where we encountered Izumi? Noticed anything off?"

"Blood…" Tokoyami said.

"It's not blood from us as far as we know, it was only there after Izumi took off to fight those villains up there." Shoto explained.

"If it's not from us then where did it come- Oh no." Kyouka said with her and Mina sharing the same thought. The others understood it as well, even Katsuki who was now listening to what was being told. Kaminari was confused at this discovery and decided to question it.

"But how can that be? She heals from her wounds as we're seeing right now? How is she bleeding if she heals through it all?"

"I don't know how to explain it as well… but my guess is her quirk is based on how much blood is flowing in her system. It's the reason why she always vomits quantities of it whenever she's using it extensively."

"So if she continues at this rate…" Kaminari said, only to be interrupted by Katsuki who finished the sentence for them.

"Deku will die."

They watched as their classmate continued on with her rampage. Until Sylvia, who was trying to contact someone from the outside world had finally got someone, and it was one of their teachers within UA.

* * *

**CRACK!**

Tomura screamed in pain as his arm was broken in half. He was slammed into the ground as the girl closed in on him. His comrades were defeated swiftly and even though Kurogiri wasn't out for the count yet, he wasn't able to help him when he was caught within arm's reach.

The girl's bright eyes shined at his as her other hand was pressed on his face.

He thought death was upon him until someone else had attacked the girl. Not so far from where they were. Tall pillars of cemented rock rose above creating a shadow over them. Bullets that never missed was shot at her feet, and someone emitting a pink mist was slowly enveloping the area. Tomura was surprised at the commotion as it made the girl turn her attention away from him.

A sound wave of powerful force was fired at their direction, and within the commotion of everything taking place within that zone, Kurogiri was able to warp gate all of their comrades out. In time before the attacks on the girl persisted, his final look at the monster he encountered at that very day would continue to haunt him from that point on.

But instead of fear, all he could feel was hate.

Hate and anger towards something more so than All Might. Something that made him a failure within that mission. He promised himself to come back for her soon, promising that next time it will end differently.

He was teleported away as the rampaging girl saw the multiple attacks being directed at her.

Attacks that came from the staff of UA that finally arrived and were trying to subdue Izumi by surrounding her and hitting at her with everything they got. Thirteen was one of them as Ectoplasm sent one his clones to get the other students out of the danger zone.

Nemuri was horrified seeing Izumi this was as she let out her quirk to ease her.

Once the news came on, she hurried along with the rest of the faculty to get themselves to the USJ. Trying desperately to call and text Inko about the situation. Only for her to never receive a reply. She panicked as concern and worry came into her face as they arrived but seeing her beloved Izumi like this made it all worse.

The other teachers including Nezu watched as it unfolded with a wounded Aizawa held up by Vlad King. The other students who were with Izumi were at the back watching everything. With Momo close to Kirishima and the others as they saw their other classmates alive and well.

"I'm glad to see you all!" Momo said as she and the others ran to meet them.

The clones of Ectoplasm however quickly went to Nezu to inform him about something. Momo and Kirishima who saw it looked at Shoto who was alarmed along with the others behind him.

"What's wrong?" Momo said.

**"SCREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**

Within the middle of it all, the rampaging Izumi Midoriya let out a screech as her energy shot out around her in a surging shockwave of epic proportions. The shockwave was so powerful that it knocked away all the teachers trying to subdue her while also breaking apart all the debris and walls Cementoss made. The wave of energy blasted through the entire building as it dissipated outside. It knocked everyone to the ground and slightly unconscious for a few seconds.

Even those that took cover weren't safe from the blast as Nezu and the teachers guarding Class 1-A were also knocked back. Nemuri, being the closest to Izumi along with Thirteen rose from their prone position. Only to see that within the middle of the radius where the girl stood, there was a pool of blood surrounding her. Her mouth had a stream of it dripping upon the ground with her arms painted with it and her red energy weakening by the moment. That's when Nemuri realized what was happening.

And it frightened her immensely.

"IZUMI! Oh God, stop this! Stop this now!" she said, tears coming into her eyes.

Everything stopped when Nemuri said that. When the hero Midnight stood a few feet away from her. A few feet away from the girl she regarded as her own daughter as much as Inko had.

Izumi suddenly looked at Nemuri, who flinched at her voice. Within her now weakened state where her sparks of energy were now waning, her thought suddenly lead her to memories.

_That voice…_

She suddenly remembers a smile. A beautiful person. The one who never hated her in the entirety of her whole existence. A smiling face that never left her. The warm feeling of that smile that stuck with her for her entire life.

"_Do you think I could be a hero someday?"_

The face that made her smile in the darkest of days. There was one hero that stood by her. One hero that never left her side even when she was quirkless. A hero she had never acknowledged that much until now.

_"I mean, it's weird having all this luck when back then it was always sadness for me. All Might is teaching me to be his successor, Mom and I are making up, and I finally have friends. I don't know who to thank for that actually… it's either to fate or because I was given this quirk."_

She then saw her. Midnight.

Her Aunt Nemuri.

_"But I think I know who to thank for being there for me, all this time."_

When everyone recovered at that moment they saw Izumi slowly making her quirk slowly lose strength as she stood there in a trance looking at a pleading and tearing Midnight. Thirteen stood by, hoping nothing happens, but with the state of everything that was happening she knew that the two would be okay.

_ "Thanks Aunt Nemu… for everything."_

_ "You're welcome darling." Nemuri said._

Suddenly, Izumi Midoriya lost the redness in her eyes. Her hair not sparking anymore and her body returning to its original color. She stood there half-naked with her gym clothes ripped in pieces and wounds all over her. The same wounds that were on her body before she transformed. She felt her body weaken yet again and was about to fall upon the ground…

Until the person who saved her long ago when she was a child until now caught her.

Catching her into her arms with a warm embrace of love. Izumi who was still weak nevertheless returned the embrace as everything came back to her. Blood was still dripping from her mouth but they both didn't care. Nemuri held on to the one person in life that she loved most above all.

The girl that she and Inko raised.

Nemuri cried as Izumi slightly curved her lips into a weak smile while holding her.

Everything went normal again as everyone watched. With some of her classmates while still reeling in from today's events teared up in happiness that it was all finished. Aizawa and Thirteen felt a sigh of relief. They lost nobody today, however they all acknowledged their failure as teachers. All of them within the staff of UA stood there feeling the shame upon them.

Because they never got here in time to stop this all from happening.

And the children who were once enthusiastic at the notion of being heroes were suddenly awakened into the reality of their chosen paths. None of them dared to say anything with the hardships they witnessed and experienced that day.

They were now also brought into the reality of what power Izumi's quirk had.

They were all scared at it, some of her classmates traumatized but they couldn't help but understand what happened. With some of them seeing their classmate in a new light. Whether it be something good or bad.

The faculty themselves now knew the risk that All Might and Inko took to hide this girl from the world. They now knew the danger she posed. Both to herself and those around her. Which made some of them question if their decision was right from the start.

Aizawa who was doubtful of the girl could only watch in silence. But he understood what Inko was going through and the risk everyone took in taking her in.

Even so with all of those thoughts in place, Nemuri was happy that Izumi was alive.

Holding on to her like her life depended on it.

"I-I'm sorry." Izumi whispered. Nemuri shushed her as she kissed the top of her head.

"It's okay… it's over."

**KSHAAAAAAAAAANNNNKKKKK!**

A flash of light. That's all it took. A flash of light within seconds… and everything went to chaos.

Screams from Thirteen and those who watched it transpired were heard. Teachers and Izumi's classmates ran towards their position in response when the Nomu who was still alive fired at both Nemuri and Izumi's place. Nemuri was thrown away as well as Izumi who suffered burnt marks on her shoulder.

Thirteen was punched away by the monstrosity with the other members of the staff along with a few of Izumi's classmates decided to help. They were unable to repel the beast as it closed in towards the girl. A weakened Izumi, who was far too weak to fight back tried to use her quirk again. Pain came into her body once more as she bled through her eyes. Replacing her tears with blood as her hair sparked into existence. But it stopped short close to her with its energy dying down and blood coming out of its jaws. It fell limp close to her as it seemingly died on spot.

With its quirk weakened enough to expose its vulnerabilities, Izumi simply focused down on its exposed brain making some of the blood vessels rupture fast enough for its waning healing factor to save it. She didn't know nor understand what this ability was of hers, but she quickly felt herself losing consciousness for the sheer usage of her quirk during that day.

This time it was truly over.

But unlike earlier there was only silence as each of them saw what just happened. Sirens were heard from the distance. Police and paramedics entering the building with Ectoplasm and Snipe meeting them as they arrived.

Izumi on the other hand, crawled with her weakened body towards Nemuri's limp form close to her. Kirishima even with his broken arm hurried towards her. Followed by Momo, Kyouka, Mina, Shoto, and Katsuki with the others trailing by as the hardening quirk hero helped Izumi to move close to Nemuri. Momo held on to her other arm with Thirteen arriving to assess Nemuri's situation. Vlad King who was holding Aizawa went silent along with the Eraser hero who shed a tear from his broken form. Nezu along with Present Mic could only watch as the latter took off his glasses.

Thirteen stood back up after assessing her friend.

Izumi who had just arrived with tears of blood held on to Nemuri's now cold hand.

And embraced her. Sobbing as she did even with the pain her body was feeling right now.

Nemuri herself never reacted. Nor was she going to anymore.

Izumi's friends and classmates felt sadness within that moment. All allusions of fear against her was gone for that time. They all mourned the small girl's loss as she sobbed weakly into the silence…

And the sounds of sirens within the distance.

Izumi could only remember within her sobs that smiling face that bought her the All Might figure back when she was a child. With her smiling back in thanks; thanking her so much at that very moment.

If only she could smile back right there, then the world would still have made sense.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

There was a knock on the door. Yet no one answered.

Within the hospital nearest the campus, one redhead girl had been confined to an ICU. There were two others that were confined for their major injuries as well like her and one teacher that had significant damage with his bones in one of the rooms.

Izumi Midoriya's injuries were great, and while she possessed a slow but natural healing factor due to her quirk, they never used it to its full extent as her blood was far too depleted for her quirk to activate. Doing so in this stage would be fatal so the usual procedures within the hospital were being used on her. Along with help from Recovery Girl to ease some of the heavier injuries and scars within her body.

Strapped on an IV pole with a monitor next to her, she had her eyes opened while looking at the curtained window and the darkness of the night sky outside. She became conscious hours ago and was silent ever since. Not wanting to talk nor say anything.

Not even with the visitors that wanted to comfort her. Nor the police and media that her mentor held back in hopes of not disturbing her.

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk.

She was just far too depressed and sad from what happened in the USJ.

It's been more than a day now since that. A day and a half…

A day and a half since her Aunt Nemu was gone.

She could still feel her cold hands that she never let go of before passing out.

She could still feel it right now.

The door opened afterwards, with her mother coming in. Injuries treated as well for the infamous and now much talked fight on the news within the streets of Aldera. Her eyes much like Izumi were devoid of sleep. Yet being her mother, she had to in order to take care of her daughter.

Now that she needed her most with what just happened.

"I'm back..." she said with a forced smile.

No response from her like usual as she continued to stare into the window. Inko frowned but she couldn't do anything about it.

Carrying a tray full of food from the hospital's canteen downstairs, Inko placed it near Izumi's bed and silently went to the window to adjust the curtain big enough for her to see the outside more clearly. She then sat next to her daughter holding the tray.

"I brought Katsudon…" she said with a smile as Izumi's eyes turned to her. "Whatever passes as Katsudon… at least." She continued losing her smile almost instantly.

Inko sighed as she held on to Izumi's hand. Closing it tightly with the girl doing the same in a much weaker sense. The weight of current events surely made everything somber. Especially since…

She was gone.

Inko was holding back her already dried up tears. Thinking of something to lighten the mood as she looked at her battered girl.

"T-Toshi is downstairs, h-he brought me coffee but it spilled on his pants." She smiled for a second but she saw Izumi not even reacting to it. "Y-You should have seen his face. It made us laugh a good deal downstairs." She finished, the atmosphere suddenly awkward.

Clenching their hands together tighter, Inko lost it.

She silently sobbed seeing her daughter like this as well as the loss of her friend. Her best friend. That helped her all throughout those years of pain and hard work raising her together. She remembers having difficulty returning to society because of her old life, but Nemuri was the reason why she managed to even get this far in the first place.

She even admits that Nemuri was more of a mother to Izumi than she ever was at all.

Losing her, made her realize how much she meant to her.

Izumi's hand clasped Inko's as she continued to sob.

"Mom." She said. Inko heard it and looked at Izumi as she wiped her tears. Trying to calm herself.

"W-What is it?" she asked.

"Do you remember what you said to me?" Inko moved closer to hear her but Izumi's face was already tearing up. "Do you remember what you told me when I was little?"

"About what Izumi?" Inko said in concern.

"About how stupid my dream was… of becoming a hero."

Inko paled after hearing that.

"N-No Izumi don't think of-

"I think you were right… a-all along." She said with tears in her wake as Inko tried to stop her.

"No… don't say that… Please." She pleaded.

"D-Do I even deserve it?"

"Yes you do… yes you do. You hear me? You do!" Inko said as she tried to stop the girl from blaming herself further. Izumi looked at her in shame and regret.

"I-I nearly killed people today. Endangered my classmates for my stupid quirk and I… I was the one that k-kill- I-I was the one that c-caused Aunt Nemu's-

Izumi never got to finish her sentence as she cried into Inko's arms. Inko who was tearing up as well held on to her. With Izumi grabbing her hands upon the cloth of Inko's shirt behind her in pain.

"You're not the reason Izumi. Please don't blame yourself for all of that." Inko pleaded.

"I-I'm a monster."

"No you're not."

"I don't deserve you, mom… nor do I deserve All Might…" she said with tears.

This made Inko feel worse than ever before as she always knew Izumi to be a strong positive person. More so than ever her all these years. So seeing her this broken made her feel weak and helpless as well. Worst of all, she didn't know what to do to stop it.

"I-I'm not a hero." She said.

"You are… okay? You are. Don't say that please. You saved your classmates. If you weren't there… then- Inko didn't dare finish it, knowing that it wouldn't have mattered otherwise. She sighed in tears.

With no more words to exchange between them, Inko and Izumi stayed there in each other's arms. With Inko feeling the worst of it. As everything changes with what happened on both the USJ incident and the incident of her and All Might within the streets. The death of the hero Deatharms within the public's eyes and the attack on the USJ that resulted in the death of a loved one.

With everything now backing them to a corner…

She was scared.

Scared of Izumi at that current situation.

She cried with her daughter in fear of how she would react when she finally knows the truth about her powers… and her origin.

She wished for that day to never happen, yet she knows it will and she was afraid of how her daughter would handle it all…

Now that more people were aware of her existence.

She clings on to her daughter in silence while thinking of it all and what the future holds for them.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 16**

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**AND THERE ENDS VOLUME 1! YAY!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO DarknessDragon for BETA'ing this chapter and helping me get through it all. It was a pain never being able to update this fic at all along with my other work for how long it took to finish. But we're here and it's done! **

**P.S. Yeah, that was a pretty somber ending to the first Volume of this series that covered the story until this point. We're now moving on to the second volume and as you know there will be three Sidestories after this to look out for. Dealing with the aftermath of all of these events and the consequences of they come with. Now that the world is exposed to the truth of the Nomus and the Pillar of Light that was shown in the sky… it will raise questions. Further making this complicated for the heroes of this story along with the now doubtful and guilt-ridden Izumi.**

**Stick with me further as we continue with the story after this as the plot thickens heavily especially since all the moving pieces within the shadows are now aware of Agony's Embrace and the power it holds. Juno would be smiling right now...**

**Once Again. Thanks to all of you who read this and I hope you enjoyed!**

**Leave a Review if possible and stay safe out there!**


	34. SideStory 14: Pillar of Light

**Hi guys! I'm back with 3 Sidestories as promised! Given that I was busy with my other fics as well as real life. I had to do delay the release of these three... along with news that during that time period. I have already plotted Volume 2's overarching story with detailed notes of what to do and what to achieve. In order to make it better than Volume 1, I focused on quality first than quantity to improve and better the flaws of Volume 1. I hope to see you all again as I happily present these short stories, which will set up what's to come!**

**Without Further Adieu...**

**ENJOY! **

**P.S. Read the AN at the bottom too for further explanations, etc...**

SideStory #14

"Pillar of Light"

* * *

7:36 Hours, Undisclosed SAT Operations Center, Tokyo…

It was a very busy day for those working under the armed forces and special forces branch of the Imperial Military. Everyone was on edge for the variable threats that just appeared within both Aldera City and the now known attack at their country's prized UA Campus. The most publicized out of all of them was the fight that broke out within the city. Counting in at least thirty-six casualties adding in the death of one Pro Hero, the one who called himself DeathArms. Property damage while not as large and destructive as the other fights recorded within All Might's retinue, it was still significant enough to turn heads. However, it was more so in the fact that there were two recorded beings that caused the attack, and both were strong enough to rival All Might into a fight. A fight that most noted to be in the favor of the attackers in the majority of the battle that took place.

Then, there was also the UA incident. Which coincided with the now publicized battle within the city. The stories there now brought enough traction as a certain public figure, in the form of the Pro Hero Midnight was reported to have lost her life within the battle. Details were sketchy as the school was thrown shade for such a sudden event that endangered the lives of 22 students and the loss of one teacher. The reports were mitigated by the school itself to control the now very apparent P.R. problem they were facing. However, it felt like the All Might battle with the strong multi-quirk adversary worked in their favor as some of the focus of the media was turned on that instead of them in some capacity.

For now, what made everyone very busy at this operations center was the mere fact that the adversaries and villains All Might faced along with the group responsible with the UA attack was connected somehow to the raids orchestrated nationwide among various facilities with suspicious activities. One of which, was discovered to be a lab of sorts that contained files and plans for a 'Nomu' project, which contained experimental bio-genetically enhanced individuals with multiple quirks. Some of which was being spearheaded as an investigation with some help from the hero Nighteye. The investigation, in pertaining to a certain civilian girl.

They were supposed to continue it discreetly, only known amongst the higher ups but since the attack and the battle took place, they were forced to now tackle the consequences of the damage done by these assailants and the lack of intelligence they possessed on the enemy that sent them.

They were trying to remedy that mistake now by trying to piece together the puzzle to know who sent them all, and with that a certain few individuals who raided the prime laboratory days ago was sent for another debrief.

Two of them, who were the ranking officers of the team itself.

They waited outside of the conference hall where the meeting was about to take place. Both wearing their formal military uniforms as they sat on the bench beside each other.

The woman in particular, the second in command of the group with the callsign Amaterasu was feeling bored and agitated as she sighed while waiting. It had been almost an hour since they arrived here and no one was kind enough to update them when they should join the meeting in question. This left her pretty much annoyed to some extent as she constantly fidgeted her uniform as his team leader, Akaname sat in silence.

As the minutes went by she turned to him while resting her head on her palm.

"Boss, why'd you think we're being called in for a talk? I thought we already debriefed them about the Nomu factories we raided?" she asked. The man turned to her as they met each other's gazes.

The two had been childhood friends back in the past, and while they separated because of different reasons, both were surprised to find each other when the team was built by the higher ups years ago. Ever since then, the two had been rather close, making it easier for them to fit in within the confines of the team as the trust between them was strong.

"I dont know Chifuyu, they've been very discreet about it. I think it has to do with what just happened recently. Apparently everyone's spooked out about the attacks and our discovery of that first Nomu factory is kinda tied to us." He explained as the woman frowned.

Akaname, with the real name Chifuyu was quite a beautiful woman. Her long brown hair and graceful features was something that wasn't ignored by anyone. Coupled with the fact that she was quite well endowed with her femininity, though in most cases particularly in public, she doesn't act as carefree and playful like this. It's only with Akaname since she was always comfortable being around him. Putting the professional visage aside when she was with him outside of missions.

"Meh, would have wanted something better than a desk talk. These uniforms are too tight on me after all" she said as she flaunts herself with her rather modest sized boobs within her rather tight uniform.

Akaname looks away with a sigh.

"You should have asked for another size."

"Nah, I keep them for eye candy. A gift from yours truly to you, Boss" She then winks at him as he smirks for a second. She then proceeds to lean her head on his shoulder with a small smile.

"Just be patient Chifuyu, we'll get this over soon."

She then elbows him at that statement.

"Stop calling me by my first name. Guys are going to ask my number, you dumbass"

"Heh, like that's gonna stop you." He replies.

Amaterasu then giggles softly as she thinks about their little interaction the previous night. Their relationship was more of a mutual one between them, but they were close enough to be considered a couple in most people's perspectives.

Her in particular, who keeps teasing him about it.

"Confident huh? But I suppose you're right. I wouldn't trade that good fuck we had last night in our room for anything. You kept me up good Boss. I might just be pregnant right now." She teases with a lustful grin as Akaname looks at him. Seemingly annoyed that she talks this way within their base. Though, it was only the two of them inside the waiting room. Making their rather open conversation to be kept with themselves.

Still, this left him quite surprised at her statement, particularly the last few words within them. He then raised an eyebrow at her as she looked at him.

"You didn't take the pill last night?"

"If I didnt would you still love me?" she said. Akaname shook his head. That term was still something he felt was not in tune yet to what their relationship was. Given the dangers of their work and the stress involved with it. He still did have feelings for her, but he was unsure on how to move with it yet.

He knew that she wanted more than that, but he wasn't ready for it.

So instead of rejecting her, he played it safe.

"Stop that. We both know we're not ready for kids. Plus, you'd be a terrible mom."

She laughs it off lightly and punches his shoulder.

"Asshole. I'm gonna be a wonderful mom. A badass one too. You'll see"

He smiles back at her as he looks at her with a serious expression, the question he asked which made him panic slightly was still not answered.

"Sure... whatever you say. But be real with me? You pregnant?"

The woman smirks at him with that question. He then sighs at her as she straightens herself out with a more serious approach to that discussion.

"I was joking with you. Maybe I will when we tie the knot soon." She replied, the sentence becoming sadly hopeful at the end, as if that dream of hers wasn't going to be reality at all. Akaname felt bad sensing that shroud of sadness on her but he wanted them to be down to earth with the relationship they were in.

"Dont count on that yet Chifuyu. We both know why."

"Yeah. I know… But it's not bad to hope right?"

A space of a few seconds was drawn out between them as both went silent.

Akaname doesn't answer. Amaterasu tries to cheer him up until the conference room door opens and a man in a suit bids them to enter. Their meeting was now due, and the moment it occurred both operatives returned to their professional demeanors almost instantly.

Following their escort, they entered the meeting together not expecting what would happen next.

* * *

Eyes were now watching them fully.

Both in judgement and anticipation given their stares.

As soon as they entered and met those who were present at the meeting, both operatives were floored, as not only were their superiors who were present, there was also a live video conference of major heads of state from countries that held considerable military and manpower allocations in the world. They were all looking on in anticipation as both operatives, despite their professional demeanor were feeling more so intimidated now than normal.

Reason being was that not only were their figures of very high position within governments of said countries present, there were also key Pro Heroes from the Worldwide Top Ten ranking present in attendance. Some of them well known and powerful both in their ability as heroes along with rank and status.

Expecting this to be a formal and usual debriefing was a mistake as they saw the gravity and weight of what the meeting was supposed to be. The appearance of those here alone was enough to give Akaname an exact guess as to how grave and serious the topic was with what they found within that raid they orchestrated.

Having members of those in the highest echelon of Hero Society in the world was proof enough of how vital the talks were going to be.

The fourth place holder, known in the world as Czernobog was there sitting next to his fellow pro heroes. Akaname had heard tales of how brutally efficient yet strong and heroic the hero was, particularly his quirk which was in essence a way of firing back at villains in a literal sense. He hailed from the country of Russia and he looked at Akaname eye to eye as if judging his worth.

The eighth place holder, the popular and renowned artist as well as Pro Hero going by the name Opus was busy looking at a few files on where he was sitting but he managed a short glance at both of them. The British hero was flanked by two ink-like creations beside him. One that resembled a man in a suit and another a dog. His quirk while on the surface was quite weak in terms of overall combat ability by himself, but was compensated by how much potential it contained. His place in the top ten was indicative of that.

Lastly, there was Solaris the fifth place holder in the world, although Akaname was sure that she already gave that title away since she ventured to another country. There in Japan specifically, as she tried to further train herself with her mastery over melee combat as well as trying to find another means of using her status and title to pursue other careers to tackle with. The Greek woman was well known in the public as being stoic and hard-edged along with her numerous titles in another key facet of Hero Society.

Not everyone from the top ten was present as it seemed but key figureheads were still there and it made Akaname uneasy as he stood in attention with his comrade.

All Might, being both Japan's first in the rankings as well as the top hero in the world was also not present. Apparently the hero was doing something else since he was in fact a teacher in UA and his services were required there.

Their superior officer who was in one of the seats along with the rest stood and presented them.

"Members of the committee in attendance, I present you the two individuals who will be representing Task Force Ronin today. The Senior Officer of the group, designation Akaname and his second in command, designation Amaterasu."

As the two were called out, they immediately adopted a saluting stance in front of them all as their Superior Officer chartered them to sit.

"So these two are part of the Ronin Squad I've been hearing so much about… some tales of your efficiency is well known in the intelligence community. Some even comparing you with similar units from abroad as well in terms of how strong your members are." A woman said, her being the representative figure head of France.

"These two don't seem that impressive in person… Though since I'm a firm believer of 'looks can be deceiving', I guess some respect is warranted." The figure head of China said as he intertwined his fingers together and turned his attention towards the two. "Especially since your team somehow found the find of the decade."

"Uh, pardon sir?" Akaname asked.

"Seems like they haven't caught up yet. As our associate here has said my dear operative, you and your team have indeed found something more than what your initial findings were." The figure head of Germany said from one of the active video screens in the meeting.

A few other individuals in suits then approached the two behind them and placed a folder filled with the same documents that those in attendance were delving in. Akaname opened his and saw what looked like satellite images of a red pillar of light that seemed to pierce the heavens high enough for those in space to see it.

He was confused as to what it was as he saw Amaterasu feeling the same.

"Excuse me for saying this, ladies and gentlemen whom are present but what does this have to do with what we found inside the compound?" Amaterasu asked.

"It has everything to do with what's happening agent." Their superior suddenly said as the two of them looked at each other after. Their superior then stood up and walked to the middle of the table for everyone to see. The presentation screen suddenly shifted and now displayed into series of pictures and videos concerning their group's raid as well as the same pictures that were inside the folders of the two that were now in their hand.

"To recap everything about that mission to clarify what we're now dealing with… we will now present an accurate timeline of events leading up to the two attacks here in Japan in regards to these… 'Nomus' as the file indicates them to be."

The screen then changes towards the plans made by Akaname and Amaterasu's higher-ranking officers that was briefed to them before the series of raids commenced.

"Months before the raids done by Task Force Ronin, there were investigations of a seemingly suspicious group of people that were operating in remote provinces and towns under small factory compounds that were designated as deserted or were shut down… legally. At first, we thought it was small time operation made by those who were sharing prototype formulas of the so-called 'quirk suppressant'. The one that most of us are here within our own sovereign jurisdictions are trying to cover and keep away from the public. For use of such a drug would result in large backlash and significant changes within the society we now all share. "

The plans then shifted towards video logs recorded by the team throughout their various raids done in the expanse of a week. Amaterasu and Akaname immediately recognized the footage as their team successfully pulled mission after mission with success yet little intelligence as to what each of these prior factories were about.

"The mission was allowed to go for a sufficient week with enough assets on display should Task Force Ronin fail, and secrecy as you all know was tantamount to its success. But as more and more facilities were raided, we were starting to get hints of what the whole picture was. Albeit barely… until of course the final mission within their logs happened on precisely Zero-Thirty Hours in Shizuoka Prefecture. By then we now realized that this was something greater than the prototype drugs shipped to scums and villain organizations alike… in fact it was worse than we thought."

The footage changes on the raid Akaname lead as they remember precisely every detail of what they found. Along with the mutilated bodies, lab equipment, and various other apparatuses scattered in the main part of the compound.

Then a close up of the notes and documents within that place was shown on the screen.

"The location was discovered to have biological experiments on verified human specimens. Take note that these experiments were conducted both on consented volunteers and non-consented individuals either by kidnapping or other means. We don't know specifically how they choose certain hosts for this experiment, but at the very least we can determine that they were used based on what quirks they had."

Akaname then recalls the bodies of men, women, some even children within that lab and he was as shocked as the woman beside her when they first saw it all in person.

"We have reason to believe that their operations have been ongoing for some time now before the raids were done, and evidence points to some of the discovered notes that there are other locations that are like this and as of now we have no idea if their operations are still active." The superior officer of the two said as murmurs began to start within those in attendance.

"Has this bled into other territories other than Japan?" the pro hero, Opus asked as he closed his folder and looked at everyone.

"We're looking into it, but even with the shared intel we have, currently we can't discern if they had decided to go abroad with these activities." The representative of Korea said as he crossed his arms.

"Do we at least know if other groups doing the same experiments are connected with this?" The representative of Australia asked as there were cases of biological genetic experiments done in this manner in other territories, especially those in Europe and some other parts in Asia. Colombia and some others had similar problems but those two continents were especially tied to that.

"No, I don't think we can relate them, as far as we can tell this is the only chain of operations that deliberately change a human being from the inside out for illegal uses. Nothing this far has been done, and based on evidence given, we are to assume that they are successful."

Then the footage changes to that of All Might battling the Nomu within the city. Pictures of remains of a second Nomu burnt to a crisp, and the Red-skinned behemoth that attacked UA.

"As you can see, these are variable threats that have lost their humanity almost completely and are subservient to whoever is commanding them. What's worse is, we have confirmed that indeed, these 'Nomus' have more than one quirk and more or less, these chosen quirks are combat-oriented."

"What about the Red one? Do we know how strong it was?" Czernobog said as eyes turned to him. The superior officer then turned towards Solaris, who was a new teacher within that academic institution. It was one of the reasons why she went to Japan and gave up her title within her country's ranking.

"Miss Solaris? Care to enlighten us?" one of the representatives said.

The Golden Orange haired woman bit her lip as her already ornate steel-black armor shined with what light there was in the room.

"I was not present during the attack at the Academy's grounds. Though I will say that I represent the institution in All Might's absence and I do confirm that the majority of the faculty was there to repel that threat. With the cost of one of us unfortunately. I had not known Miss Midnight that long, but we had a cordial and pleasant relationship when we interact within the school. As for the attack itself, my colleagues report that there were ten so villains that ambushed Class 1-A along with their homeroom teacher and Space Thirteen herself who was helping with a rescue exercise. Eraserhead was badly wounded and sustained heavy injuries. Thirteen was more so okay, with damage to her suit. Those in the class however… at least one girl was treated with a life-threatening gunshot wound which was thankfully rescued in time. One of the boys had fractured legs, and one girl in the class went through heavy scarring, burns, and fractures all across her body. She was wounded heavily trying to fend off attackers. The rest, sustained minor to medium injuries but psychologically speaking, those kids went through hell."

The long report on what the school's situation made everyone silent. Even Amaterasu who was tougher on stoic with situations like that, the news of those kids made her feel guilty of some sort.

"Do we know what the intentions of those villains had when they attacked the school with that red-skinned monstrosity?" the representative of the US asked.

"There is no underlying theory on what the intentions are yet as we're looking into it." She replies.

"But we can indeed say that the two attacks in particular were related. One reason being, is that All Might was present in the other. Making it seem like those who planned this separated him entirely to make sure the other attack succeeds." The representative of Russia said, to which most agreed in.

"Then that would mean the goal was UA. Have your colleagues identified the attackers?" Akaname asked Solaris who looked at him.

"No… not as of yet." Akaname flinched as he sort of felt that there was more to the picture than what the woman was saying on the surface.

"What would the primary goal be? To send ten villains and one powerful Nomu in UA? Wouldn't killing All Might be enough to prove their point?" Akaname added.

"That's the point that we would like to investigate on son. Particularly the connection of it all."

The screen changed to that of pictures of the aftermath of the infamous Aldera Incident. Nothing of such scale ever since the war decades ago surmounted to the loss of life there. A failure of the Hero Society who believed that such events would never happen on such a scale as grand as that.

"Sir, I'm confused… what does this have to do with anything?" Amaterasu asked as the meeting went silent at her question.

"I'm afraid there's something more than what we're seeing agent. One that can possibly link to this event. The one big answer we are all trying to solve years later."

The screen then shifts to that of a satellite image. One that was infamous in itself, as the only image that showed what exactly occurred in the Aldera Tragedy. The beam of red light and the wave of red electrical energy that was visible in space.

"As you can see, this is the blast wave that killed an estimated six thousand lives within the sole span of two minutes is the only evidence we have on trying to discern what exactly happened on that night." He explained.

"And that connects to what… exactly?" Amaterasu questions again.

Then the screen puts another picture, the image of a beam of light that was in the documents placed in each folder of those in attendance. Suddenly, in that very instance Akaname and Amaterasu connected the dots.

"Yes… indeed they do look the same. Even without the circular wave of energy reverberating from the center, this specific beam of light has reappeared again recently. Two times to be exact. One weaker in a sense that was blasted sky high and another powerful enough that it was seen by almost the entire country." As he said this, news reports and sightings from the internet and media of all kinds show the pillar of red light ascending into the heavens.

"Both cases… happened within UA's campus grounds."

All eyes then turned to Solaris… whom while still silent was beginning to feel uneasy. As she knew now where this conversation was heading.

"Before we continue... may you please remind to the entire room what you saw in those notes agent Akaname?"

Akaname was now the focus as he breathed for a second and responded.

"A note, a group of notes or comments that was written on a board inside the lab. One of which mentioned that further DNA samples were needed and beside it was a picture of a girl alongside All Might." He recalled.

The photo was shown to everyone as Solaris felt further uneasy.

"The main theory is that this girl was the prime subject of interest that those inside the lab were wanting samples of. My team and I even found samples of vials filled with blood and her DNA. To which we have now identified as a civilian girl with the name Izumi Midoriya. Sir Nighteye was given authority to investigate this matter and he has confirmed that the girl is close to All Might along with knowledge that she attends UA."

All eyes then turned to Solaris yet again.

"Is the girl… really the source of all of this? How can we be sure?" Amaterasu asked.

The screen shifted yet again. This time with the Slime Villain incident. Then everyone's eyes darkened as they saw it unfold. With how the girl held back the villain with her red energy.

"We aren't sure agent… it's just that she is the possible link to all the events we are now experiencing recently. Add the fact that she was the most injured girl in her class by a medical report given by Aldera General Hospital, then we know that _she _was the target… and her quirk is what they're after…"

"Do we know what her quirk is?" one of them said.

"No, but as of this moment. She is our number one concern and priority. Given that we are playing with powers we don't understand…"

Solaris frowned at the mention of those words…

As everyone was now coming closer and closer to the truth.

The revelation of Izumi Midoriya's Quirk.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 1 "The Broken Visage"**

* * *

**AN: We're now getting into the slow creeping realization of Juno's foresight. The consequences of things that happened at the end of Volume 1 are now going to seep into Volume 2. I'm quite excited to show you what's next as times are going to change with all things going on behind the scenes. **

**One character in particular, in this which is the woman Solaris was teased way back in Chapter 9 "Unveiling of the Goddess". As the woman who kept everyone quiet with one word. She has been lingering in the story for quite some time now as one of UA's faculty ever since her pseudo-introduction in Chapter 9. I have never put quite as much focus on her as her role in the story was still not prevalent until now. Also, in clarification to her role, SHE IS NOT a replacement for Midnight. Midnight's death was a cautionary risk I made to further develop Izumi as a character and the stakes that exist because of her quirk's existence. Solaris or Aiketerine (her real name) plays a different part, and like said she will not be taking over Nemuri's teachings but instead will be regulated in one particular subject I wished to add for the lore.**

**That's all I can say about that for now and thanks once again to those who read and liked the ending of Volume 1. Particularly those who wrote reviews for it. I gotta say, I know this story isn't the best in the site, but thank you for the responses. I hope to make it better for you all as we go through another phase of Izumi's life.**

**REVIEW REPLIES:**

**To The Combo Killer: Thank you so much for such a heartwarming review! While yes, Volume 1 is split into a three part story structure. A strategy I often use in making stories of any kind. Volume 2 while longer, will have a similar structure. With it ending in another major facet of Izumi's life in the process. Thank you so much and I hope you keep on reading! :)**

**To The Doom Slayer 94: Thank you! I'm so happy. The reason why The three-parter chapter 16 was so long was because I wanted to move the action in a way that feels authentic, fast, energetic, and epic in a sense that it doesn't drag. I'm glad that you enjoyed it even with how somber it ended off. Once again... thank you!**


	35. SideStory 15: Fear and Inclination

SideStory #15

"Fear and Inclination"

* * *

13:06 Hours…

"So… it's slowly coming to be huh?"

Walking towards her ornate white desk, she pulls the chair and sits as she fixes her dress while doing so. A cup of tea with a coaster underneath was on the middle of the desk and she pulled it towards her. Smiling in delight as her hidden features behind the partial mask gave off a sense of something different within the air.

"According to traffic and whispers within our numerous sources, they all confirm the same thing. That of which that the Pillar of Light brought attention all of the world's eyes on Japan." A voice replies.

Taking the teaspoon into her hands, the woman stirs the contents of the cup as she pours a minimal excess of milk on it. A wave of steam usher out of it as the smell fills the air. With a relieved sigh, she breathes in the scent as she picks the cup off the coaster and takes a small sip.

The flavor latches to her tongue and mouth. She licks her lips as she returns the cup back to the coaster. Now content with whatever she was experiencing right at that moment.

"Are there reports of how the _other_ watchful eyes are responding to this?" the woman asks.

"None yet mistress… although this has indeed greatly enhanced the amount of interested people that would look in to what is currently going on. Especially those… who are aware of the true nature of the Aldera Tragedy."

"I see… I already warned her about this. Though, the experiment would never have played out as good as it is if she gave the girl to us. I'm already happy with the results."

"I agree mistress."

"Still… based on the footage given to us by my youngest disciple, the girl still has room to improve." As she said this, a hologram projector then activates, revealing footage of Izumi Midoriya in her predatory state. She then sees how easily she was able to overpower the pitiful excuse of an imitation in the form of that 'Nomu' as those people call it.

The woman smiles cheerfully with that knowledge but is still unhappy with how disappointing her performance was in this battle. Barely able to keep herself alive because of the amount of trauma and damage her body took before changing.

This even continued further since the girl was still injured with her healing factor severely taxed when she changed back.

"As beautiful as this is… the flaws to the various machinations Inko has placed inside her has impeded her potential. But I don't think it matters in the end at all. This is a minor setback. Because as much as the girl walks close to the door of death, she will always come back. Stronger… and better than before."

There was a silence for a moment before the voice in the intercom she was talking to replied again.

"Mistress… you have read the reports given by Io and Nemain, correct?"

The woman frowns at the question.

"Yes… I do in fact. Why do you ask?"

"She is emotionally vulnerable right now… wouldn't that impede her growth of potential further?"

The woman stops stirring her cup on impulse. She sighs deeply and rests her head on her palm.

"No… I don't think it will play out like that child. As you saw, the predatory state in which the girl was transformed into was merely satiated by the time she changed back. Should that part of her returns, then she will change into it no matter what. Even if it costs being at the point of near death…"

"Oh. I understand now."

"In addition to that, I don't think Inko nor All Might will allow her to be like that again as well. Given the amount of damage she can do and the significant threat level she possesses with those quirks stored inside her. They will have to be forced to train her to better control that part of her quirk's nature otherwise they will have to confront the consequences that follows."

"Mistress… with all due respect, may I ask one more question?"

The woman raises an eyebrow as her scarred over milky-white eyes focuses on the holograms. Glowing faintly with the ethereal yellow aura as her eyesight continues to view the footage her disciples have acquired.

"What is it?"

"What will we do when the time comes… when she finds out who you are and what you did to her?" the voice on the intercom asks in a fearful tone. Unsure if her mistress would take the question in a less offended way.

The woman known simply as Juno gave off a small moan as she thought it over.

"I believe should that moment come my dear… I think I will be ready enough to accept what becomes of me. For now… I wish to see where it all leads to. All paths may lead back to me, but the journey itself that the girl will take will ultimately decide what her fate is… as will mine."

Juno turns off the recordings and lifts the teacup again.

"Then again… I was never the best choice to begin with." She says with finality as she grins recalling how that conversation between her and Inko ended.

* * *

17:32 Hours, Undisclosed Location…

"Do repeat that again please? I'm afraid I didn't hear it much." A voice on a static television screen said as Reyna Sindacco, one of the villains that attacked UA sat on a chair facing the television screen with a hint of fear but respect on her face. Behind her who was standing behind the bar was Kurogiri wiping off a few glasses from the shelves nearby. The entire abandoned bar was silent as the woman sat there with Tomura in one of the tables near a window silently minding his own business with a frustrated and angry demeanor hiding behind his stoic features.

He was gratefully repulsed with the result of their recent attack and it showed when some parts of the bar were broken entirely because of his rage. He had since calmed down by that time, but Reyna knew internally that he was still pissed off like a delinquent child who never got the chance to prove himself.

"Forgive me sir… but as you heard, we have lost all three Nomus. Even the specialized one you entrusted to us. Two members of the League were killed off as well. The loss though small, was still a heavy blow given with how efficient his quirk was."

"Then we are to assume that the girl has absorbed those quirks as well? Correct?"

Kurogiri and Reyna looked at each other.

Begrudgingly, the young woman replied back.

"Yes master. We have failed you in that aspect of the mission. The girl simply became far too powerful the moment she turned into seemingly another form. Even the Nomu was outclassed."

"I see… Kurogiri, by your estimate. How strong was the girl the moment she changed into this _other form _as Ms. Sindacco here has stated?"

Kurogiri stopped wiping and settled the glassware he was cleaning down on the bar as he responded back to the voice on the television.

"I believe she is strong enough to rival you… my lord. Though I cannot really gauge it as accurately as my other estimates."

"Interesting. I would wish a full detailed analysis on this once you are all clear to visit me."

Both responded in kind, especially Reyna who owed a large debt towards their master.

"Do understand my friends. This is still a setback, a setback that we should learn from. I have always taken it in mind that the Nomu I sent was not enough to hold back what the girl had to offer. As unfortunate as our losses were, on both fronts… I still think in a way that this is a success given what we learned."

Tomura who was listening in quietly with what was going on, simply looked away in shame.

"Tomura… I would like to talk to you please." The voice in the television said.

Reyna and Kurogiri turned to him as the pale-skinned young man sighed in frustration as he scratched his neck on impulse. The skin on it reddening slightly as he approached in an almost embarrassed manner. He then sat on the stool right next to Reyna who looked slightly worried at him.

"Master…" Tomura said with a low tone.

"How do you feel Tomura?"

Tomura's eyes move away for a short period before he spoke again.

"Does the weight of failure bog your mind my dear boy?"

"Y-Yes… it does."

"Come now… don't feel ashamed of your failure. As much as we lost so much of what we had while executing our strategy, I believe that there is still a commendable amount of effort present. Mistakes aside, I do believe that we still have worked this to our advantage."

Tomura doesn't respond as he stares into the static television screen.

"Worry not of your mistakes… instead do more to improve them. Do you understand this?"

He doesn't respond yet again, only for Reyna to push him slightly.

"Y-yes… master. I will… try."

"Tomura… listen to me." The voice in the television suddenly became serious for a moment as Tomura looked up to meet that tone. His expression was almost like the first time he saw his master. The guiding hand that offered him to this life he now had.

"Know your limits. As much as I. We cannot control the events of what comes next. We can only do so much to the point where hoping for success means nothing. Improvement is the only thing that you must think now. The girl is a setback in your journey and what I want from you now is to learn from all the things you encountered and beset your heart on being better than what you once was."

Tomura nodded as he thought about it.

"You have never failed me yet boy as you are the one I trust to finish what I started."

"I will master." He replies.

"Good. Once the time has come, I will ask for you to see me in person. We have much to talk about and much more to discuss with these new developments going forward."

"What about the League? We lost two members…"

"A necessary sacrifice. They are expendable after all. The only ones who are of worth to us are the current people whom are with you right now."

"I understand master…"

"If there is nothing left to discuss about this matter, then I suppose we can finally continue this in some other time…"

Tomura nodded.

"Goodbye for now Tomura…"

"Goodbye… master."

The television screen turned off and the room was once again in silence. Tomura then stood up from his stool and put both of his hands on his pockets and walked out of the room. Still thinking heavily of his failure as he went off sulking in a sense to his own misgivings.

Reyna who was left with Kurogiri simply sighed.

"Do you have something strong there?" she asked.

"Hmmm… I believe we have something here that is appropriate for the situation." He replies as he goes under the bar and takes a bottle out to present to her.

"I dearly hope that the boss talks some sense into him. He's been acting childish lately." She muses as Kurogiri uncorks the bottle and pours her a shot. The young woman takes it slowly and looks at her companion.

"You're worried of him aren't you?"

Reyna shrugs to herself and takes in the shot. She licks her lips afterwards and exhales with slight frustration. Looking at the shot glass before responding back.

"Of course I'm worried. He's like a little brother to me."

"I'm aware. _He _did in fact chose you to watch over him when I'm not around."

"I have a debt to pay the boss after all. That's why I accepted the job. Though through time he seemed to have grown on me. Even though he doesn't talk about it much, I do feel that he's taking in that failure seriously. I feel bad, even though we were both there to begin with."

"An unfortunate circumstance." Kurogiri said in agreement.

Reyna nodded as she placed her shot glass on the bar again, indicating him to pour her once more.

"Do you think there's something bigger than this? That we don't know of?"

"What do you mean?"

The drink was poured as Reyna took her shot glass close to her thinking about it all.

"Nothing…. Just a feeling."

19:58 Hours…

Himiko's eyes slowly opened.

The world suddenly brightened up her eyesight once more as she slowly tried to remember where she was. Her brain was fuzzy, almost like she woke up from a deep sleep that knocked her out completely. Groaning slightly at the new sensations. She tried to feel her entire body again as she slowly regained her thoughts.

Her body felt weak. Her arms and legs almost limp. With little to no movement that she can muster. She tried to sit up, only to feel a painful sensation on her chest. She then realized that she was in a hospital…

And memories of what happened prior all came back to her.

Himiko's eyes opened widely in realization as she settled herself down on the bed. Multiple medical apparatuses strapped to her as she recalled everything.

The attack…

All of it, came back to her as she looked upwards into the ceiling. The guilt…

The shame…

Her mistake that nearly cost the life of her friend. Suddenly as she thought about it all, a feeling of fear enveloped her. Unsure and afraid of what happened to her…

Of what happened to Izumi.

She wanted to stand up and try her best to find her, only for someone inside the room that she didn't notice spoke up.

"You're awake."

Hearing footsteps, Himiko finally saw who it was and much to her surprise it was the Pro Hero Thirteen. Wearing her now fixed suit, she stood over the side of the young blonde girl as they saw each other eye to eye.

"T-Thirteen?"

Thirteen nodded as internally she smiled.

"We've been worried about you dear. You've been unconscious for hours. Your classmates and teachers were worried sick of you since the state you were in when you arrived according to the doctors was critical. Thankfully, you recovered well enough with the surgeries they administered and… I've been watching you ever since."

Himiko blinked at her as she tried to question her further.

"T-The others… a-are they alright?"

Thirteen placed a hand on top of hers as she moved the chair beside her close to her bed.

"They're fine, you don't need to worry about them."

"W-What about I-Izumi?"

Thirteen hesitated to tell her about Izumi, but she sighed and decided to tell her regardless.

"She's alive dear… badly wounded but alive. She just woke up hours ago but I'm afraid she's far too traumatized to speak nor talk to anyone."

Himiko suddenly felt the shame and guilt building up inside her as a rogue tear came down her cheek. Thirteen slowly wiped it away as the girl started to slowly sob.

"W-What happened?"

There was a short pause as Himiko waited for her reply.

"A lot happened when your classmates rushed you to safety… and I'm afraid we lost more than we thought previously…"

The blonde girl suddenly started to cry as she clung on Thirteen.

At that very moment, she started to say 'I'm sorry' multiple times in guilt and shame for the rest of the night. With Thirteen keeping her close.

To Himiko Toga however, she felt as if she failed her sister again…

Knowing that she betrayed one of the only people in life that ever cared for her.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 1 "The Broken Visage"**

* * *

**AN: As seen, the League of Villains that appears in this story is more of a team rather than the squad of random goons and villains in canon. Each of them having their own strengths in combat situations where All for One needs them to be. There's more to them with how little is shown from Volume 1's ending, but they will be explored in some capacity once we proceed with the plot. Particularly Reyna who is now part of Tomura's arc. **

**Does this mean that the other villains in canon like Twice, Dabi, Magne, and a few more are out of the picture? Nope. They have a place. Especially Twice, who I plan to have a certain arc within the story. Something that doesn't overall change his canon depiction, but something I hope that further develops it. **


	36. SideStory 16: Where we Stand

SideStory #16

"Where we Stand"

* * *

9:36 Hours, Aldera General Hospital…

Inko waited for the vending machine to pour her the coffee she chose. It was a more than a day now after staying in the hospital. More than a day where she was forced to accept what happened within that span of time where both attacks occurred, and of course… the death of her best friend.

The events after that came by in a blur. So much so that trying to adapt what on what was going on was hard. Especially since so much was now in jeopardy. So much in fact that it gave her inner turmoil and yet another sleepless night thinking over what to do next. The attack opened up so much problems for all of them. Namely Izumi's state and ambiguity against those whose eyes were now watching her.

Inko knew that when she took the risk of maintaining her daughter into her care. She knew that these type of situations would come soon and she thought she was prepared for it. In reality, she always hoped that she was ready to face such consequences…

Yet it was abundantly clear that it became harder and harder as time passed.

Losing so much in the span of those few hours made the already heavy burden worse than it was originally. Worst of all, Izumi herself was now put in an emotionally vulnerable state far worse than the time when she was an indifferent mother towards her.

She knew that this was more painful to her than that. Because the fundamental thing that always pushed her daughter to go with her dreams, was the belief of being a hero.

What it meant to be a hero.

Ever since that day where she broke her dreams, Izumi never stopped believing in that part of her that would pursue it even without her consent. Inko knew how precious that part of her was…

And now, it was simply shattered.

She purses her lips slightly in frustration. Crushing the cup slightly as well as she brought it close to her. Thinking about it all as it tore her heart while doing so.

Izumi was silent the moment she woke up. She had cried for hours within her arms. With herself being part of it as she held her daughter close. Izumi too had no sleep at all since she was always staring blankly in silence at the window. Looking in shame and guilt at her actions.

Actions that Inko knew wasn't really her fault.

She would rarely talk for a few more sentences before simply wanting to be alone for a few minutes. Try as she might at talking to her about it, the girl would simply smile slightly at her with that fake expression and mused that she was fine.

Inko didn't want to pry further, as she knew what the girl was going through.

She felt how badly tormented she was about her actions. How it all lead to this.

Not even Toshinori was able to talk her out of it. He too was now in a problematic state as their fight within the city ushered a lot of the media with the destruction, casualty count, and of course the death of a pro hero.

It put too many pressure in his public image, both because of his failure to stop the Nomu from rampaging further into the city, but also his failure at not being there when UA was attacked.

In fact, everyone felt that way, especially the teachers and staff of the school.

But no one felt the burden more of that failure than him. Inko knew this deeply, because even though he was doing his best not to show it to her nor to anyone, the expression and the cloud of sadness that hovered over him was blatantly obvious even to those who didn't knew him that well.

Even his attempt at talking to Izumi was proven to be a bad thing.

Because the both of them were at a state where they really felt like they betrayed their purpose. While it was true that Toshinori handled it better than her daughter given his years of experience on the field, it still left a large sting on him. Because he knew what was on stake given the girl's position.

And he always vowed to himself that he would never fail so catastrophically again.

Inko recalls how painful it was to him telling her about his mentor.

How he failed her, and she knew that seeing Izumi reminded her of that same person.

Which is why he felt that weight pretty heavily, maybe even close to what she was feeling now.

_Damn it._

Inko sighs heavily as she walks to the benches. Nurses and doctors moving past her as she sat and thought about it all. It felt like everything was more so okay on her end of things…

But the people she cherished were the ones that were suffering and to her it broke her heart immensely. Knowing that should things continue, more problems will stack up upon each other. Further making her burden heavier than ever before.

She knew something was already amiss when Izumi became doubtful and afraid of her abilities, and now that it escalated into this, it made her question what to do next.

The stress in her mind was nearing the boiling point and she just wanted to do something. To help, but nothing came into her mind that would do just that. It was just problem after problem, as the consequences of everyone's actions now made it harder to slowly integrate Izumi into this world's favor much like their original plan.

She was tired… thinking about it all. Too tired to do anything.

With Nemuri gone, the world seemingly made no sense anymore and she was struggling how to cope with it. As her best friend was the only strong link she had with her old life and with her death, came the empty hole again that was only filled by Izumi…

Her daughter who was losing hope as much as she was.

Thinking about made her unaware that a presence of warmth just sat right beside her. The both of them thinking heavily on this subject as the tense but stressful atmosphere kept them from greeting each other for a solid minute.

However, Toshinori knew that the woman was clearly suffering through the burden, and like his promise to her back then… he wanted to make sure that there was someone there who could share and help loosen the load. In whatever form it took. Even if it meant that he himself was feeling the same thing.

With a steady breath he looked beside her and tried to talk to her.

"Did you manage to get some rest?" he asked softly.

Inko bit her lip and took a sip out of her drink before tipping her head towards his direction in the form of a small glance. Her green eyes so full of emotion and a clear sense of what she felt at that very moment. Toshinori's eyes also made her feel at the very least comforted in a small way. Seeing that his blue eyes gave out a caring but also burdened expression made her feel less alone than she was prior.

"Couldn't sleep. I don't think I would have last night."

"Same…" he mused as they both lowly moaned in agreement.

Inko then turned to him, seeing him more in his true form was something he preferred actually. Rather than his powered form which was only a shell of what he really was inside. The façade of a man that risked everything just to make the world safe and hopeful. Even if it meant his own happiness was the price of doing that.

Which was the main reason why she was concerned for him as well…

"Where were you last night?" she asked.

"Tried to fix a few things… talked to a few people. The situation's gone worse than expected. The whole of UA is worried. Given that they all took the risk for young Midoriya."

Inko frowned, but she was far more worried about him right now, for she was already aware of what was going on. The media, the police, the public in some form, everyone…

She was far more concerned right now of how Izumi was feeling.

And even his own feelings on that matter…

"That bad huh? We've gone through worse before. I remember the PR problems you had when I nearly brought down that building while you held me in place." She said as they both reminisced the moment they first met. Toshinori smiled for a bit thinking about it.

"Yeah, but it was never this personal…" he said to her as they looked at each other.

"I want to say it'll be okay much like how you do when you talk to me… but I know that's not the case. It never is, especially right now…"

Toshinori places a hand on top of hers. One of which that Inko smiles briefly from as they both entangle their fingers together.

"Inko… I promised you that I would be there for Young Midoriya… but that also includes you. So whatever happens, you don't need to forsake everything in your hands, I'm here and I'll always will be."

Inko smiles genuinely at him and giggles slightly at how weird their conversation was.

"Yeah… whatever you say Toshi." She replies as they let the silence take them. Not even bothering the noise and activity surrounding them.

As they let the comforting moment continue, Inko then noticed that over the corridor, there was a group of teens that she recognized trying to ask a nurse about someone's room. Inko with her surprised expression, felt relieved that despite what happened…

The people that mattered to Izumi wished to see her.

One of them who was in a wheelchair even accepted the risk just to see if her daughter was alright.

Inko smiled at that as she stood up.

"Hey… where are you going?" Toshinori asked.

"Just follow me…"

* * *

…

The sound of someone gagging and coughing weakly was heard within the room.

The painful sound of her forcing out the excretions of blood she in result of her overusing her quirk was a painful thing for even Kaguya to hear. The woman was beside her as she gently stroked the girl's back on her bed as she tried to vomit what little remnants of blood that her body needed to excrete in result of her quirk. She was forcing it out on a disposable bowl of plastic as a doctor and nurse watched over her as she continued to gag on the other side of the bed.

Drips of blood were the only things that came out of her painful gagging and coughing as she was now almost out of breath trying to force it all out.

The pain coming up on her throat as Kaguya continued on trying to comfort her.

A few seconds later when she finally stopped coughing, Izumi weakly looked up at the doctors, confirming that she was done. After a short check-up, they left a minute later as Kaguya wiped a wet and warm cloth across her face to wipe it all off. Izumi who was completely silent as it played out, weakly looked at Kaguya who was focused and concerned for her as she cleaned her hands, face and even dampened the cloth upon her neck to ease the dryness and pain she had when she gagged earlier.

She then squeezed the wet cloth on a small basin next to her bed as Kaguya poured water on a plastic cup for her drink from.

The whole room was silent as Izumi looked at the turned off television inside this room. Medical equipment and an IV pole strapped beside her. The window, covered by the curtains as sunlight peered from behind it. The atmosphere of the whole room was completely somber.

Only a few words were exchanged.

Not even light conversations of any kind which was one of Izumi's traits were shared. Kaguya who was tasked to take over for Inko at this hour did her best as she could as time passed. The only faint sound being that of a clock that was on the wall opposite to her bed.

To Izumi, the silence was good enough for her to feel okay.

Her thoughts jumbled and still reeling from Nemuri's death, and everything that happened. Which she blamed largely on herself. She turned her slightly watching Kaguya work as she came to her with the plastic cup in hand.

"Drink." Kaguya simply said as Izumi moved her hands to take the cup into hers. Her burnt marks and scars that was the result of her fight in the USJ was still clear to the eye as they healed relatively slow due to how taxed her body was trying to fight back with that much force with her quirk.

She too was still far too weak to move her body, which is why quite an intensive amount of care was being given to her. Even the simple drink of water was hard for her. Which is why Kaguya helped her on every step of the way.

As water entered her lips, some of the pain and the dried up feeling of her throat washed away slightly as she swallowed it all in. When the contents of the cup were emptied, Kaguya took it and disposed of it as Izumi watched her closely while resting her head again on the pillow.

Kaguya came back a second later, seeing Izumi looking at her wounds and burns at the back of her palm. She had a steady look of fear, guilt, and sadness on her face as Kaguya returned to her side.

"Hungry?" the woman asked.

Izumi turned her eyes to her and shook her head slightly.

"A snack at least?" she asked again.

Izumi turned her eyes downward and shrugged. Seeing a few cookies on the table beside her bed. Kaguya smirked as she reached it and moved it closer to her so that she could eat. As much as Kaguya wanted to help her though, the girl simply declined as her weak fingers grasped the treat and fed it to herself slowly.

Even by that little show of courage, she was still the Izumi that she knew.

Although in terms of how she really felt deep inside, she knew much like Inko that the resolve of this girl was simply shattered. The loss still abundant on her face as she chewed slowly.

"W-Where's mom?" the girl said with a weak tone as she looked in question at Kaguya.

"Downstairs. She told me she wanted coffee."

"S-She's t-tired isn't she?" Izumi asked.

Kaguya nodded at her.

"Don't think about it much Izumi. You're the one that needs rest. Your mother and Mr. Yagi are still worried sick about you. You can help them by being better. To rest and heal and by then I'm sure they can relax." She said to her with an honest reply.

Izumi didn't comment on it as she chewed on the cookie.

"W-What about All Might?" she then asked.

Kaguya looked at her but she didn't say anything. As she recalled from both her boss and Inko that they should refrain about telling anything to Izumi as it would hinder her recovery should they do so. But it was harder than it seemed, seeing that the girl was still unaware wholeheartedly of what was going on outside. Lying to her felt wrong, but it was needed.

"K-Kaguya?" Izumi suddenly said as the bunny-eared woman was returned to reality after staring at Izumi too long.

However, before she could even reply, a knock on the door was heard.

"I'll be back." Kaguya said as she stood up and walked to the door. Izumi was now left to her own musings as silence once again permeated in the room. She fiddled with her fingers yet again thinking about her aunt… her classmates.

And how she was a danger to everyone.

She then yet again thought about her dream of being a hero. With a frown on her face, she was about to call out to Kaguya to ask another cup of water...

Only to hear certain few voices coming out of the doorway.

Greetings of various kind came out of that space and Izumi was welcomed with the sight of her classmates coming inside her room one by one. They wore casual clothes at that very moment and most of them were very much happy to see her.

Then she saw her mother smiling at the doorway, with Kaguya coming back to her side.

"How are you doing?" Momo asked with a smile as she was the first one to approach. Followed by Mina who sat on the other side of the bed. The others came as well with Kyouka, Kirishima, Asui, Kaminari, Sero, Uraraka, and a few more others as well from the entire class.

Even Bakugou was there in the background quietly watching the whole thing unfold.

There were still a few more absent faces namely Himiko, Shoto and Sylvia, but most of the class was there to greet her and Izumi was surprised as to why. Their faces, not a hint of fear in them, unlike what she had expected given what happened.

"Y-You guys…" Izumi said as they all smiled.

"Hey, don't you think this is getting old, you being hospitalized every time something happens?" Kyouka sarcastically remarked as Izumi smirked.

"Kyouka… come on." Momo said.

"What? That was a joke!"

"How are you doing Izumi?" Mina said as she looked at her in concern. The tone of the moment changing almost instantly as a sad vibe became prevalent all around them.

"We were all worried after… everything you know. It was hard for everyone to see you when they rushed you to the hospital." Kirishima said as he moved closer.

"Yeah… after hearing that Ms. Midnight was your aunt also made us feel bad." Kaminari added.

"I'm sorry about what happened Izumi. We weren't there to help you at all…" Toru said whom with Uraraka and Mineta were the ones who rushed Himiko and Tenya out the moment the fighting started in the USJ.

"I'm sorry as well… for never being brave enough to help you." Uraraka said as she came closer.

The rest did so as well, even Mineta who was naturally a pervert gave a heartfelt condolence as well as an apology. Then they all parted to show Tenya who was smiling at her while Shoji pushed his wheelchair.

"Midoriya… glad to see you okay." He said with a simple nod at her as everyone smiled.

Izumi whom was speechless at the various apologies to her, could only look surprised at them as she looked at everyone who was present.

Her heart was in tatters, a feeling she didn't know how to describe as she saw all of those who came and was unsure what to say or do at that current moment.

"Y-You're all… here? W-Why?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious Deku? They're here because they were worried about you." A voice said in reply. It was Katsuki whom was in the back, a smile wasn't present on his face but his words were genuine.

"Bakugou's right. We were really scared after everything… especially when we thought we almost lost you. It was painful." Momo explained as she took Izumi's hand. For a single moment the girl felt the still obvious burns and wounds on the back of her palm that extended on the length of her arm. Momo and the others who saw it felt a pang of guilt and sadness seeing how much she tried to save them all.

Even if it meant costing her own life in the process.

"Yeah… if it weren't for you, some of us might have been off with worse fates than what we got." Asui said as Mina who also held Izumi's hand nodded in agreement.

Kirishima then balled his fists seeing her in this state, in fact all of them felt the same as Izumi looked like a hollow of her former self. Barely even saying anything the moment they arrived. He felt terrible as well, as the girl risked her life to be their frontline when the villains tried to kill them all.

"You saved me too, and I never did much to help. As much as I want to thank you for it, I'll do my best to never let this happen again next time." He said to her.

"I wanted to say thank you as well, but I don't think I earn it. You were better focused on that battle far more than me and I never got to help you." Momo admitted.

"But then again… none of us would be alive if it weren't for you…" Tokoyami added.

"That's why we're all here… to thank you for what you did. You saved us Izumi. All of us." Kyouka interjected, a thought that everyone shared within the room. Even Inko who was watching it all unfold could feel how grateful in support of her daughter everyone was.

It tugged at her heartstrings.

To Izumi however, she was still speechless. Unsure how to react.

"Y-You're not scared… of me?" Izumi asked almost a croak with how low in tone it was. Her eyes slowly started to tear up as all her classmates watched her on.

"Why would we be?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, I mean sure you were quite… something, but that doesn't mean we're afraid of you." Kaminari said as he rubbed the back of his head, to which Kyouka elbowed him.

"Wait… did you really think we were going to ignore you? After everything?" Momo asked.

Izumi didn't respond, with her face slightly looking downwards.

Before anyone could say anything, Tenya who was in the wheelchair asked his classmates to move him closer. Izumi then felt Mina giving her scarred hand upon Tenya's as Izumi looked at him.

"Midoriya… I asked to come here, with everyone. Even though I can barely stand. If that doesn't mean anything other than that we care for you, then I don't know what to think…"

For a steady moment, Izumi felt Tenya squeezing her hand. With Momo doing the same as the Red Haired Girl of Class 1-A was so full of happiness that she smiled with tears coming out of her eyes.

"I-I don't know what to say… b-but, thank you… thank you all." She slowly said as she sobbed in happiness. Momo sniffing in tears along with most of whom were present. Even Kyouka who was naturally recluse with her feelings couldn't help but feel her eyes watering slightly.

"Damn it Izumi, why'd you do this to me?" Kyouka exclaimed in a sarcastic manner as everyone started to giggle. Even Izumi mustered a small smile.

Inko who was watching in the back with Kaguya relished the whole scene. With Inko shedding a few meaningful tears as well.

"This is the first time she smiled ever since she woke up right?" Inko asked.

"Yes." Kaguya replied as they saw the teens now trying to cheer up a still overwhelmed Izumi with her emotions all over the place. She seemed pleased with everything, but even with that both adults knew that the girl still had a large hole in her heart that was still unfilled.

An absence caused by both doubts on herself and the loss of Nemuri.

Inko sighed as soft laughter entered the room. Even the blonde boy that kept to himself most of the time was now actively getting into the conversation. Albeit in a strange manner.

But still…

Seeing Izumi away from her gloomy sadness felt like hope still remained within her.

"At least she's smiling right now." She said to herself.

Kaguya who heard it moaned lightly in agreement.

"Is that my cue?" Toshinori said who now transformed into All Might. Inko nodded as they hurriedly made him enter the room as not to draw any attention from the people outside. Media and other things were the least of their priorities right now.

Before Toshinori could proceed however, Inko took his hand and squeezed it.

"Go be her hero."

The man smiled with his large iconic grin and continued.

And by that time, everyone's faces were in surprise and joy. Even Izumi felt a ray of sunshine coming down upon her again. For that moment she felt peace.

To Inko, she hoped that Nemuri… wherever she was would be watching.

20:58 Hours, Toshinori Yagi's Residence…

"She'll be fine. Kaguya's there, Thirteen is close by, and I even asked Gran Torino and some of Nighteye's sidekicks to keep watch. She's perfectly safe…" Toshinori assured as he opened the door to the house. He then flipped the switch as Inko trailed behind him. Wearing his jacket over herself as her tired physique still wanted to be there for her daughter.

"It's not that… I just feel like she needs me there. Nemuri always was, even more so than me. I'm just worried that she'll feel alone when she wakes up." Inko replied as she sat on the couch. Toshinori who heard it walked to the kitchen and fetched her water to drink.

"She won't. Her and Kaguya have a strong bond. Sometimes I feel like they're sisters with how well they click with each other."

Inko watched him bring the glass of water over to her and then sat beside her.

"Thanks…" she muttered as he nodded. Both of them slowly relaxing in the couch. Inches apart.

It was completely lonely and quiet inside the house at that very moment. No Izumi that was always buzzing around doing something. Nor even Kaguya who always had a task to keep herself active within the house.

Now that it was just the two of them…

It all felt somehow, a bit too quiet.

"She'll be fine." Toshinori said again as he looked at her. Inko sighed deeply and nodded as she took the glass and drank from it.

"If it makes you comfortable… I think Young Midoriya will feel better knowing that you got some rest too." He adds as Inko settles the glass on the coffee table in front of them.

"What about you?" Inko asks.

"I'll be fine. I've had sleepless nights before. I'm just a bit on edge with everything lately."

Inko purses her lips into a small smile.

"You're not joining me then?" she asks with a bit of playfulness in her voice.

Toshinori widened his eyes the moment he heard that and turned to her.

"Wait… what?"

"That was a joke." Inko immediately said as Toshinori suddenly chuckled. Though a bit of disappointment present in his mind. Before he could ponder on it further though, he felt Inko's hand touching his.

"We're in this together… right?" Inko asked as their eyes met.

The silence deepening as both their hearts raced a bit faster.

"Of course. Didn't I promise that?" he replied.

Inko smiles deeply and embraces him. Toshinori felt her warmth as he also embraced her.

They separated slightly, though their arms were still in each other. Toshinori then saw Inko looking deeply into his face. Both of them feeling the large gush of blood reddening their faces.

Inko most of all, felt her heart race.

With a slow and soft action, she moved her hand to touch his face.

"I-Inko?" he then said… a bit of fear on his voice. The unsure mountain of feelings between them.

She on the other hand, felt that everything was alright.

That it was finally okay to do it…

She then leaned in closer. Her eyes closing, pausing for a few seconds with how unsure they both were should they continue down this path. However, she took the leap of faith.

And in the span of a few moments, their lips met.

A good moment passed between them as they let those feelings at ease.

When they separated, they both smiled at each other and the entirety of the night never became lonely again…

**TO BE CONTINUED IN VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 1 "The Broken Visage"**


	37. Volume II, I The Broken Visage

Volume II

I. The Broken Visage

* * *

_ A gentle smile within the darkness rises._

"_Your mother loves you… so much. More than I can actually say or feel." _

_ A woman rubs her belly passionately under the dim light of her room. Her baby bump steadily growing through months and months of development. Her hair is red, her face happy and satisfied with the baby growing inside her. She strokes her belly with soft strides as the light shines on it._

_ She then thinks of the old times._

_ How she got to this point, and how life gave her the most heart-warming present to a woman of her age. She is content now. Finally rid of all the problems she has ever had with the beauty within her that was growing. Her ultimate creation…_

_ Her __**Magnum Opus**__._

_ Her… bright red flower growing within the dark abyss of everything around her._

_ With hope of something greater._

_ Something pure…_

_ Something enchanting._

_ If she could cry a million more tears after receiving the news, then she would do just that. It was a perfect moment for her. A dream come true to conceive a child. To conceive the child of her dreams. _

_ To fulfill the only thing that made sense to her in this world she lived in._

_ With a soft sigh she looks at her belly once more. The curve of her skin, the smoothness of its texture, and the tingle of her senses as she glided those digits across. It felt surreal, almost like everything around her was a wishful dream of sorts. The kind where you wake up from in tears full of regret and guilt._

_ But no…_

_ This was reality and she championed it. Almost boasted it to those who said otherwise. _

_ The naysayers that wanted her dead._

_ The naysayers that all wanted her crucified on a cross._

_ Her child will be what's important, what will be the boon to her legacy. Her ultimate stamp to leave upon the world once she perishes. _

_ A smile of something proud and profound in nature graces her features, her emotions in a level that would trump that of a person who found peace. If she could only use that smile in a graceful notion, to be permanent. _

_ Everlasting even._

_ For now, she would savor it all._

_ Humming to a lullaby as she caresses her newborn growing inside her._

_ As she continues to do this, suddenly the room she was in shook. Dust in the corners rustling as they fell to the ground in a slow motion. Almost like a tremor that moved. Her lamp light on a desk next to her, which was her sole light source moved slightly, the arm holding its lightbulb shaking as the rumble continued._

_ Her shackled hands providing a chilling sound as the metal texture moved alongside each other. The chains clinking in place as she looked around. Not even worried. Not even bothered, just simply in bliss as she caresses her belly._

_ Even with the multiple scars still fresh on the top of her palm._

_ Her hair, unkempt. Unreasonably messy._

_ Her face even in satisfaction had a tired demeanor. _

_ But she was happy, and that's all that mattered as she continued her lullaby._

_ Sweet. Slow. Loving._

_ Like a kindred spirit bringing out her voice to calm down the sirens that lured men to their doom. Or a song that calmed those beyond in the dark corners of the universe. Her mind delusional. _

_ Perverse in notions far beyond her own._

_ Her mind and its crevices full of thoughts in grandeur. A shining accomplishment._

_ "I'm already proud of you. My dear flower… my beloved child."_

_ The room shakes once more. Significantly this time, as the light glitches. Darkness under a flickering lamp grazes the room. She does not seem bothered by it, not even pestered to act or do anything of value to react to the sudden occurrence._

_ She merely sits there in bliss._

_ "I wish to see you someday. In glory, bathing in triumph against the widened eyes of those who doubted me." She whispered as she leaned in closer. The shaking of the are making the chains rustle as their metallic clanking resonated within the room._

_ Suddenly within that ominous silence came a sound of someone screaming._

_ Guttural. Painful as if something terrible was being done to that person._

_ Yet her emotions remained neutral. As if those screams were not there. Nor did they exist at all._

_ "Shhh…" she whispered._

_ The screams intensifying in the next room. The glow of something red peering out of it._

_ The sounds resemble that of a man. A man in pure pain and hatred at everything as he screamed. _

_ His voice echoing in the room as she remained silent._

_ A sensation within her belly, akin to a baby kicking was felt._

_ "Shhh… don't be scared." She whispered once more. Caressing the infant's home as she smiled dearly. One smile that brought about a million emotions._

_ One smile that peered through the screams of agony._

_ She then embraced herself as if her child was there._

_ Cooing as electrical arcs of red energy seeped into the room. The screams worsening._

_ She simply smiled as the lamp that was flickering eventually fell into the floor. Shattering as the glass spreads everywhere. Her smile still intact._

_ The screams suddenly waning._

_ The sensation within her belly returning._

_ "Hush dear one. Your father is okay."_

**END OF PROLOGUE**

* * *

…

07:13 Hours, Toshinori Yagi's Residence…

He yawned as he looked at himself in the mirror. Eyes opening wide as he tried to wake himself up in the morning light. Not a hint of tardiness in his face, nor even a hint of stress after waking up from a good night's sleep. This was actually far later than what his usual morning routine was but seeing that he felt relaxed, he never minded the compromise in his schedule.

In fact, he was happy that he did and now he looked content for the most part.

He was wearing a shirt on as he looked at himself at the mirror. The cloth hanging by his smaller form as it was meant to be in the size of his persona as the Symbol of Peace. It looked normal of course, a steady white color that he wore the first time he met his protégé. He was also wearing shorts at that very moment and looked down to see his legs also dwarfed by the fabric he now wore.

For a moment he felt self-conscious. Looking at himself and his face as he leaned in closer.

His blue eyes peering through the skeletal face he had, and even though he looked fine and well he felt a little disappointed seeing himself. Because back then it was different. How different he looked at the time he first trained with his master. How that all progressed to the look he had now.

Truth be told, it was never an issue for him to begin with. The matter of looks and how he viewed himself as the only thing that mattered was how far the people he protected looked at his image as All Might. The Symbol of Peace that was always smiling, always strong, hopeful and above all else, a determined figure that never gave up even with overwhelming odds stacked against him.

His normal look was never an issue for him until now…

As it also helped to conceal his true identity. The real Toshinori Yagi behind the face that everyone worshipped and praised within the confines of this society he now lived in.

But now he felt somewhat conscious of himself in the very real persona he was in now.

It wasn't always like this, but after his injury it all went downhill.

His Quirk now the only thing that provided him a means to remain as strong as he was, or at least as strong as he needed to be. After then his body seemingly degraded, almost to that of a living corpse. His once powerful smile behind that face of his was now almost non-existent on his real face.

His hair that was triumphant and something he was proud of back in the day, now a mess that drooped along the side of his face. His smile, the world renowned-smile was not present in his true form, rather only a shell of his former self and in a way that made him feel a bit sad.

He sighed deeply as he stared at his reflection.

Years of this job, all of it passing by. His injuries, his scars, and his mental fortitude are all indications of that. Yet deep down, he felt as if he missed the good old days. Days where being a hero meant something more than just popularity, where true heroism was not a job to aspire being, but an act that was voluntary to preserve the peace and ensure safety to everybody's lives.

Even the simplest of things to help those in need was something pretty much lost in the world today. A thought that resonated with him as he found himself in his shoes right now. The same shoes that his mentor probably may have felt training him to be the man he now is.

It was his turn now, and while the road was indeed hard and hurdled with many obstacles. Much of which that originates from her origin itself, it never meant anything to him. What he saw was a girl that wanted to help, a girl that wanted to be something more than what reality denies her to be.

Sure, there were other kids like her, probably better in terms of choice for 'One for All' much that even Mirai or Nighteye himself had championed for him to pick, but to him, it was all his choice.

He just saw a girl that wanted to do the right thing.

A girl that was powerless as he once was when he approached his mentor.

Eager to do what was right, amidst adversity.

He saw himself in that girl and he was proud of her because of that.

But at the end of the day, the new generation of children. Those willing to be heroes especially young Midoriya's class, were going to be the guiding light that would soon replace people like him.

He just hoped that the same spark was still evident in Izumi.

Regardless of her loss.

"Hey…" he heard a voice say right behind him. A voice that managed to slightly comfort him from his deepened thoughts on various subjects. Then the appearance of a certain Inko Midoriya came into view beside him. Her hair almost like his, unkempt, as if they both just woke up from a relaxing sleep together. "…Got something on your mind?" she then asked.

Her features were truly beautiful, at least to his eyes. Her green hair, her rather fit physique, and that strong face that has seen and experienced a lot through the entirety of her life in general. She was wearing his shirt as it loosely hung on her form. No underwear underneath, not even shorts below. Yet the garment was long enough to hide her womanly features away from his eyes.

Though that in itself was not needed. For he had already seen it.

Twice in fact.

Last night did feel great, as he smiled at her.

"Nothing to worry about. Was just thinking of a few things." He said to her as she smirked.

"What happened with the whole 'you can talk to me' attitude. That applies both ways Toshi. Both ways… so don't you dare worm your way out of it." She said with a small giggle as she moved in front of him and smirked with that devious grin of hers.

"Your problems are mine as well. Well… more so now in fact." She stated as he nodded.

"You really had to like me huh?" he then suddenly said, she then widened her eyes at his statement but was quickly entranced by what he meant by it.

"I always thought… you liked me first Mr. Popular. We wouldn't have met if you weren't curious enough to approach me all of those years ago." She taunted.

"Heh, we would have still met even by then." He said in contemplation. Remembering the days when she was a villain, she looked away almost ashamed of it, regret on her face but she sighed.

"I always wondered… would things have been different between us. If… Izumi was never in the picture in the first place." She asked, shy and contemplative about that very thought that they shared between them.

"Now why would you think that?" he replied.

"You're the one who's thinking in a serious sense… tell me why this talk needs to be depressing then." She challenged as they both smirk before returning to the question within their minds.

Both of them in agreement.

Regardless of their pasts… the girl, was truly something else.

It changed them both from who they were prior, maybe mostly in Inko, but to Toshinori he still felt that same feeling. Special, that was the word.

She was a special and important part in both their lives.

One that would be the center that determined which path they would tread together.

"I wouldn't change… a thing. Izumi is my daughter… and finding her was the best decision in my entire life… The best decision I've ever made." Inko slowly said with each word having so many meanings as she smiled at herself.

Toshinori nodded to that statement.

"I'm happy for you." He whispered.

"Likewise." She replied back as she then tapped his chin.

"Now… feel any better?" She then asked as she looked at herself in the mirror, fixing a lock of hair that was near her eyes. She moved them away as Toshinori looked at both of them.

"I suppose I do… even though we still have a lot of problems today."

"Yeah… lots of questions. Turning off the TV doesn't help at all as it seems. It's complicated… doing what you heroes do." She lamented.

"A lot more complicated given what's happened in the USJ."

They both went silent after that, as Inko recalled Nemuri.

She bit her lip as she opened the faucet. Letting the water pour as she washed her hands. Slowly and more so deep in thought about their entire situation more than ever before.

"Can we trust Nighteye about Izumi's secret?" she asked.

Toshinori placed two hands on her shoulders as she thought about it. Massaging them for a bit to ease her. While they did like each other's company these past two days, the burden of Izumi's troubles still weighed them both down. Especially for Inko

"I don't know yet. Mirai is a very different person than I am. If it wasn't my choice, I think it would never have been young Midoriya who took over 'One for All'. It was always his voice that warned me about my future. A future he's still scared of happening."

Inko recalled the supposed foresight he told her back then.

It didn't worry her prior, but now that this man grew to be someone special to her, a dark thought manifested in her mind. One that she was scared of experiencing again.

"Hey… relax. I'm not dead yet." He then suddenly said. Taking her out of her thoughts.

"Yet." She then turned to him. "You say it like it won't happen." She said as their eyes locked on each other. His hands still on her shoulders.

"And you're worried far too much knowing that I wouldn't leave both of you. Not now… not ever."

Her lips curve slightly at that.

"Is he ever wrong?" she then asked.

"Inko… I have an obligation to see her take my place someday with my own eyes. I will not leave her until then and I'm making sure that I'm staying with you both, even if I have to fight fate itself to achieve it."

She then bursts into laughter.

"Now you sound stupid for some reason. Promises… all of it, I'm glad that you're saying them, but what I want to hear from you is this… to make sure that Izumi remains safe even if it means both of us as the price to keep it."

He nodded as they both smiled.

She then pushes him out the doorway, much to his surprise as Inko smirks.

"I'm going to shower first. You get second dibs." She playfully says, he was going to reply until she presses a finger on his lips. "As much as I appreciate the thought, we really need to get ready Toshi." She says to the supposed invitation he was going to give. He waves it off as she grins.

"Oh… and one more thing…"

"Yeah?" he says.

"Let's visit her first… before we go together to UA."

"Of course…"

"Nemuri was special to her. It would be cruel of me not to talk to her about it. About today."

"Are we really not going to make her come with us?" he asks.

Inko contemplates on it before staring back at him.

"I-I'm not sure yet."

"She has a right to Inko… you know that." He says.

"I know. She was as important to her as me. Maybe even more for her because she was always there. She was more of a mother to her back then than I was."

"Even so… you shouldn't discount yourself. She would never have wanted that."

She smiles and closes the door slowly.

"Yeah." She whispered to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Toshinori who was outside felt the same thing about their situation. It was going to be a long day.

A long day for both of them.

As this was the last time, the very last moment for them to pay respects to a certain hero who was beloved both as a teacher and a public figure to all heroes within their society.

Nemuri Kayama, also known as Midnight to some became a focal point of their worries today.

As her final farewell marked another part in their struggle to raise Izumi…

That of which the many trials in the aftermath of both tragedies.

Hard as it was, they both needed to bear with it.

For their special girl's case.

* * *

07:28 Hours, Aldera General Hospital…

Izumi's emotions were in a spur. She was staring forward at the white walls, white corridors, and people dressed mostly in white within the hospital. Doctors, nurses, and other patients moved in and out, sometimes accompanied by people they knew, maybe even people they cared about. Her face was in a blank state as her eyes drifted towards anything she saw. A couple of people smiled at her, some just stared, but to her it didn't mean anything at all.

She had changed a bit in the span of two days. Sure, she wasn't as sad as she once was, but that didn't say much given that she was still apprehensive about herself and her abilities given what happened. Not even the presence of so many people supporting her in this hardship was able to lift her spirit enough to stop her from putting her thoughts on that subject entirely.

She was just quiet for the most part. Conversations were mostly short, even to her friends and her loved ones. Her scars had healed somewhat, but her other more major injuries were still significant enough that she needed a few more days within the hospital. Her quirk was not allowed to manifest in order to heal it all up given her close call with how low her blood count was. She wasn't allowing it to manifest either, and oddly enough her quirk didn't seem to function ever since her last use of it. Recovery Girl along with a few more treatments and medication from the staff was the sole part that made her recover, and she was fine with it.

Her long red hair was also cut back to its shorter roots. She preferred it that way, as it was now back to the length it once was… the days before her quirk had manifested. To her it just felt appropriate.

As the scenery moved on, she looked at her bandaged arms and legs, her hospital gown hugging her smaller form in a snug way that made her comfortable. Her back which was also heavily injured was resting on the wheelchair as Kaguya pushed her along.

The other day, her bandages were filled with various drawings and messages from her friends in school, but they had to replace it. She didn't mind it, but she hopes that her friends would understand. They were always supportive, and would visit her almost every day since she was admitted here last week and she liked it.

For the most part.

Kaguya who was her caretaker for the majority of the time was also there for her. She never left nor even took a break from being close to her that long. Even when her mother was there, the woman still stood close by. Willing to help her with anything, almost like she wanted to pay back the lost time she owed Izumi due to what happened. She doesn't talk about it much, but the Bunny-Eared woman seemed very much in regret given what happened to her.

Today, the reason Kaguya wheeled her all over the hospital with clearance from both her mother and the staff as she felt that Izumi needed a breath of fresh air. Something to change the scenery a bit from the dull-looking room she was admitted in. She was glad to take her on this trip as she moved the girl along in silence, their final destination being that of a new garden in one of the balconies within the hospital they were in. It was new, and an attraction that was mostly donated by UA courtesy of the principal.

The reason as to why she was taking here there was simple… it's because Izumi seemed to like certain places that felt peaceful.

Where she could feel comfortable amidst a beautiful and peaceful scenery.

A trait that Kaguya notices very much given how much time she seems to enjoy being alone both in the school's gardens, Mr. Yagi's property next to a tree, and sometimes when she just sits by Dagobah Beach watching the sun set after a hard day's work of training back then.

It was a way for her to lose steam.

To relieve herself of all her troubles, even for just a moment.

Kaguya hoped that this attraction would help uplift her spirit more given how vulnerable her emotions were. Maybe it could also bring a nice change of pace that would make her feel peaceful and happy for the most part.

"Is All Might coming today?" Izumi suddenly asked.

Kaguya looked down seeing the girl slightly turn her head towards her as they continued down the hall together. The windows by the side illuminating the hall even with the cloudy skies outside.

"I'm not sure Izumi." Kaguya replied as they continued down the windowed hall. Passing by other people who either greeted her or continued their way without saying anything.

"Mom's coming… right?" she then asks.

"Of course, I know for a fact that Ms. Inko will always come here given your condition."

Izumi smiles a bit after hearing that.

As the wheelchair moved along Izumi noticed eerily that more and more people seemed to greet her as she passed by. She almost felt like that same moment she went to school the day after she helped All Might save Katsuki from the Slime Villain.

She wondered if that was the case amongst other things.

Then her mind wandered on something else.

"Today is Tenya's release right?" she asked.

"As I can remember..." Kaguya responded.

"Has Miko been released too?"

"Your best friend?" Kaguya asked.

Izumi nodded, and come to think of it… she had not seen her at all ever since the last time she was rushed to the hospital. She heard Mina and Kyouka, along with Toru and the others saying that they managed to drop by and they said she was okay. It bothered her that she seemed far too reclusive from her that she began to think deeper thoughts about it.

Maybe something that had to do with her being afraid…

"Izumi…"

"Y-yeah?"

"I can hear you mumbling to yourself and do understand… I don't think that's the case. I've seen the way you and that girl interact with each other. I don't think she will ever think about you that way, given how close you two are."

Izumi blushed, thinking that those thoughts of her were only in her head, but like the very observant person as she was, that part wouldn't brush over her without her hearing it or even taking note of it. She was that good when it came to things like this.

"I-I'm sorry… I'm just thinking you know. I don't feel as bad as a few days ago… but… well-

Kaguya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Think none of it. Your friends care about you and I have no doubt that she does as well. I think what you both need is time… and time to heal those wounds is a must if you are to continue along on the path you chose."

Izumi suddenly felt different with that last sentence.

"O-Of course…" she whispered.

Kaguya simply hummed in response to that, knowing what the girl was going through.

She then wheeled her left as they neared their destination, a sort of lounge area where patients, staff, and other people come to unwind was shown to them both. A television was hanging on one side and a group of vending machines caught the redhead girl's eyes.

She then looked at Kaguya.

"C-Can you get me some chips?" she asked.

Kaguya instantly raised her eyebrow. It was her job to make sure the girl's recovery went smoothly and that also came with the addition of her monitoring anything she drank, ate, and consumed. Though, she would obviously help Izumi have a few treats along the way, even without Inko's consent.

But that was only to make sure the girl felt normal again.

"Really?" she mused.

"Please?" Izumi then replied with a small smile. Kaguya shook her head, knowing that she wouldn't say no to her at that moment. She sighed and moved her next to the nearest benches where the vending machines were near to and quickly fetched a bag of chips from one of them.

Izumi waited as she saw other people sitting there. Waiting on their own volitions within the place. Some of them were watching the TV on the corner of the room, and as Izumi looked up at it she eventually noticed that the news was on.

And they were reporting about her aunt…

Within seeing Nemuri's picture on the screen, the girl suddenly put all her focus on the news report. Detailing what allegedly happened within UA's campus grounds and the incident that took the life of the hero known as Midnight. In that exact moment, Izumi felt her heart stop as it all came back to her.

The memories…

All of it. Down to the very last detail.

Her last smile…

Her last words to her. How warm she felt at first…

And how cold she became.

She never even noticed that a tear came down from her eye and was not even listening to what the report was conveying. As a thousand other things were happening in her mind at that very moment.

She clutched her hands on the armrests of the wheelchair and felt her emotions of sadness and pain flourish.

Then an image of Class 1-A came into the screen, and eyes that were watching the television drifted to her. Some of them recognizing her immediately. She didn't notice them, as she simply recalled all the events that lead to what happened.

All the events that lead to her aunt's demise.

She was on the verge of crying when the channel was switched.

The noises in her head stopped. The cries and anguish were muted. All she heard were cries of some people that asked why the channel was changed as reality came back to her. The haunting presence was whisked away almost completely.

She then saw Kaguya standing in front of her, holding the bag of chips in her hands…

With a face of regret for her seeing all of that.

She then wiped her tears and gave her a brief embrace as an apology. Izumi felt how warm she was and for a moment she felt comforted. As they separated, the woman then moved her along and thanked the staff member that switched the channel as they continued on with their destination.

Izumi sniffed as she once again felt her heart plummet in cinders towards the abyss.

Pain blooming inside her.

Reminding her of what happened.

They both became silent as Kaguya wheeled her on. That was one of the reasons why the television within the room was not allowed by Inko to be turned on. As a lot of things had happened within the span of a few days.

All of them linked to the attack on the city…

And the subsequent attack on UA.

News reports were rampant from here and there. UA had to completely shut the public away to control the amount of questions being thrown at them with the incident. Midnight's death also caused a stir along with the sightings of red lightning in UA.

The demise of the hero DeathArms was publicized too. Along with a few other heroes like Mt. Lady going silent after witnessing the incident first-hand.

UA had to literally do its best to keep their PR problems in check.

Along with trying to make sure Izumi's secret was intact.

It was hard as the hospital was cordoned off of from the media, along with All Might not saying anything about both incidents and the casualties of destruction tied to them.

Investigations went rampant too, and given the small circle of authority figures that know of Izumi's real condition, it meant that it became a lot more harder for Inko and Toshinori to try and convince those who were already being curious. The hardest being Nighteye, who was still due for a talk with Kaguya's boss.

All in all, there were so many things that was happening outside, and Kaguya was there to make sure that Izumi didn't feel overwhelmed and concerned for everything.

Damage control was going to be tough, and those who knew about her all acknowledged it.

There was also more to that than what Inko has shared with Kaguya, but for now the woman's only focus was the girl in front of her that she was taking care of.

Izumi on the other hand, even though her mind had not cope too much with what was being said in the TV, she did however get one major detail that she did not miss.

That today…

Was the day where her aunt was going to be buried. The very last day for everyone to see her body as she was when she was alive. The very last chance for those who knew her to see her one last time…

And Izumi wasn't told about it.

She became a lot more silent after that as Kaguya finally got them over to their destination.

The new attraction in the hospital that was being kept and preserved by the hospital staff as a means for visitors and patients alike to have a new outlook and place for them to relax and feel comfortable.

The entire premise was simple yet grand as the sliding door opened for them. Revealing a very neat and ornate design of a walkway with both sides decorated in calm-colored green flora. The air felt fresh as well, and since this was made over a greenhouse dome that covered the place, it felt as if they were out of the hospital's bounds, and inside a place that could very well function as a small park. There were a few people there as well. Some of them patients with their families and friends talking and some of them just random people that wished to see the view and take pictures.

Izumi looked over the place, and in all fairness she did in fact feel that this was peaceful.

Even the air felt different.

The place was surprisingly cozy as well, with little to less noise coming from it in contrast to the busy hospital halls they came from. Only the sound of sprinklers, people talking and conversing was heard.

Kaguya then wheeled her charge towards a window that was flanked by both sides with flowers of different kinds and colors. The distinct ones, those being red camellia flowers…

Izumi reached over one of them and gently plucked it.

She then stared at it for a moment as Kaguya sat next to her in a small bench where she parked the wheelchair next to. The woman feeling regretful seeing what happened to Izumi in that very small glimpse of the media she watched. She didn't even know what to tell Inko about it, given that it was her responsibility to stop it from happening.

Failure was a very hard thing for her, as she wanted to do her very best to be perfect in the eyes of her clients, and while yes it wasn't the case most of the time, she did feel very regretful and sad when she fails at something.

And since that something was in the form of Izumi Midoriya, it felt twice more painful than that.

"She used to buy me flowers, back when I was… younger."

Kaguya drifted her eyes slowly towards Izumi who was touching the pretty red flower in her hands.

"I always loved it. They were always pretty, well… she did know how to pick the most beautiful ones when she buys them for me, but the thought never left how eager she was to make me happy."

Izumi bit her lip before continuing.

"Her effort in trying to be the best person she was towards me was one of the very few things that motivated me to continue on…"

She then pressed the flower closer towards her.

"I always thought about who my hero was growing up to where I am now. I could… maybe say it was always All Might. His smile, his determination, everything. It always kept me up, always made me who I am… b-but, I never realized that it was always her. Always… the person there. The hero that kept being with me… a-and I was far too naïve to see it." Izumi confessed as a tear trickled down towards the flower. The teardrop moving that landed on the side flowed down to the center as Kaguya saw her close to sobbing. Wanting to comfort her, the woman placed a hand on top of hers as Izumi looked at her.

"I-I… I miss her." She whispered in pain as she leaned forward and embraced Kaguya.

Holding tight as the woman gave the same love back to her in response.

"It wasn't your fault… it wasn't your fault. Your aunt would never have blamed you for it." Kaguya whispered to her as she stroked her head. Izumi didn't sob, she just simply teared up in Kaguya's arms.

"I miss her." She said once more as the woman took out her handkerchief again and wiped her tears. She then fixed the girl and straightened her hospital gown while also trying to fix her hair.

"Did you know that… she and I used to make hero names together? For me…"

Kaguya smiled briefly as she continued.

"It was a pass time of ours… especially the week before UA. She always told me that it was her job for the most part in the school to help the students create their own names. I was always excited for that, because we wanted to share to the class what my hero name would be…"

Kaguya moved a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Will you tell me what it is?" she asked.

"Fire Flower… I always loved flowers and to me the spark of fire always meant that my spirit in being a hero would always be there. Always glowing for others that would need it. A guiding light for people to feel safe from. It was… also red too and… she said it fit the whole gimmick."

A painful giggle was heard as she looked at Kaguya who nodded.

"It was also to symbolize the one thing we always liked together, which were flowers. Their simplicity… their beauty and their radiance. She also told me that it also meant being special… as I always found a way to make everyone inspired because of who I was…"

Izumi then squeezed her hand on Kaguya's own.

"Mom never told me about today."

Kaguya looked at her, unsure on what to say.

"C-Can I come… to at least see her… one last time?"

"I-I don't know…" she responded back.

"Please? I-I don't want my final memory of her being that… that much painful."

"Izumi… I-

"Please… I just want to see her. I want to see her face… one more time." She said as she was tearing up again. Kaguya held her hands.

She pursed her lips and felt that she needed to nod. She didn't want her to feel all the more sadder than she already was. She wanted her happy. So even if Inko did say no, she would ask in Izumi's behalf to have it happen.

"Okay… I-I'll ask your mother. I promise." She told her.

"T-thanks… i-it means so much to me." Izumi said as she rested her head on Kaguya's chest. The woman kissing her head in an attempt to comfort her like what her mother did back in the day.

"I know… I know." She said to her as she stroked her back.

"I want to see her…" the redhead girl whispered.

"You will."

After that, the young girl and Kaguya continued to sit next to each other in silence as Izumi finally stopped crying. She felt calmer now after a few minutes as she and Kaguya just enjoyed the stillness and the peaceful silence that covered the area they were in. The sunshine outside the window blooming against them in a faint glow. The clouds amassing...

Until Kaguya noticed the sound of footsteps, and a young boy with scar on his eye walking towards them with a woman trailing behind him. Kaguya instantly recalled the classmates that Izumi shared in Class 1-A and recognized the boy immediately.

The son of the number two hero…

Shoto Todoroki and his sister came to visit.

Kaguya elbowed Izumi as she looked at the direction where she was watching, and Izumi felt as surprised as her as Shoto silently walked closer and saw Izumi eye to eye.

"Glad to see you okay." He said in a low tone. His face not changing.

Izumi tilted her head as she saw his sister eventually joining them.

"You don't sound so glad." Izumi mused with a low voice as he looked at her.

The girl then giggled and reached out for his hand and Shoto took it as well.

"Hey… I'm glad you finally came to visit." She said as he nodded with his sister smiling with a nod as well. The woman greeted her as the two teens shared a moment of soft conversations…

Both of them trying to comfort the other for what happened a week ago.

Kaguya who watched the entire thing unfold could only hope that the people who support Izumi continue to do so. Recovery would be hard, but if the right people were there for her, then she knew the girl would pull through.

But as for the issue with what Izumi asked of her…

She was still far unsure what to do or say about it.

* * *

07:49 Hours, Just outside of Aldera General Hospital…

"Yaoyorozu! Hey!" Mina shouted out as she saw her classmate exit a limo close to the main entrance of the hospital. She hurriedly ran towards the girl as Momo smiled after noticing her calling out to her name. After catching up to her, the person who was driving the limo walked up and helped take out two packages that were gift wrapped almost elegantly for a certain person they were both going to visit at that day. Mina who was still reeling in at how rich her classmate was, only reacted with an awed face. Quickly so, after taking both presents out the driver rode off with a courteous nod at both of them and promised her to pick her up later that day.

AS the car drove off, the two remained as a few more people entered the hospital like a normal day. Momo quickly looked at Mina whom she hadn't properly greeted yet.

"Hey! I'm glad you're here… and wow, you're so early as well!" Momo said as Mina waved it off.

"I just wanted to show a little more love for her… so being early was a must." Mina replied enthusiastically as she looked at Momo handling the two medium-sized presents in her hands. Both catching her attention pretty well.

"What do you have there? Are those for Izumi?" Mina asked.

"One of them is, the other is for Himiko." Momo explained.

"Wow, that's so kind of you Momo!"

"Of course, given that I am vice representative of the class I need to help everyone and that means even Tenya if he was here, but since he's already been cleared I decided to buy a gift for those two remaining." Momo said to her as Mina looked at how well made the wrappings were.

"You just had to go all out huh?" Mina said as she poked on one of the presents.

"They're our classmates, it's only fair that I would to show how much I appreciate them."

"I didn't mean that, though you showing up with these things kinda makes me jealous."

"What do you mean?" Momo said in a puzzled tone. Mina then scrounged her small sling bag on her side and took out two cards that were as colorful as her personality. One was for Izumi, and the other for Himiko.

"I only made them some heartfelt 'get well soon' cards, and seeing you having this much effort to buy them something makes mine kind of irrelevant." Mina said as she scratched the back of her head.

Momo smiled and leaned closer to see both creations up close.

"To me I think they're both special… mother told me once that if you give a gift to someone, no matter how small or how much effort you put in it, it's the thought that counts at the end. The thought of how much you cherish that person that you're willing to give him or her something that came from you specifically."

Mina blushed at that statement.

"Aww… that's so sweet."

"I don't think those two would mind anyway if it came from anyone… they're both really nice people and I think they'll love those cards as much as they would love these."

"But you would have the edge though…" Mina teased as she put the two cards back to her bag.

"I would not."

"It sure feels like it." Mina again teased with a grin making the much taller girl blush red in embarrassment.

"Will it really?" Momo then said in concern as she looked at the two things in her arms.

"I'm just kidding…" Mina said as she elbowed her with a laugh, Momo laughed with it as well as Mina volunteered to carry the other present on her consent. They then both entered the premises of Aldera General Hospital and immediately in the lobby they saw another group of familiar faces whom were there waiting for them both.

"Hey! She's finally early." Kyouka teased at Mina who pouted in response.

"Wow… to whom are those for Yaoyorozu?" Toru said as the invisible girl looked like a group of clothes floating in mid-air. Her shirt coupled with shorts and some stockings were noticeable. Kyouka also wore a bit more casual than her usual style, with it being in a lighter-colored tone with her sky blue shirt and lighter-colored ripped jeans. It was of course overlaid by a black jacket that was customary of her. Asui was there as well wearing a green shirt and some light-colored leggings that reached to the bottom of her red shoes. Kirishima was also the only male classmate that was present at the current moment and he sported a casual attire as well, that being of a red shirt and some jeans below.

They were all grouped in the lobby, likely waiting for their other classmates to show up.

"Wow, you went all out buying something to gift them with huh? I thought you weren't serious last night when you told us in the chat." Kyouka commented as she took one of the presents from Mina's grasp and examined it.

"They look so pretty." Toru commented as Kirishima moved closer to see.

"How much did you spend on this?" Asui asked as all eyes went to her.

"I don't know… I just asked my parents to help with it, but I assure you I just wanted the best for them both. Price… and anything other than that doesn't matter." Momo assured.

"Sure… I knew you'd say that." Kyouka dryly remarked as they all laughed. Momo herself blushing a bit further into red.

"What about you guys? What did you get?" Mina curiously asked.

"I got them a few mixtapes I made. Would help them unwind I hope." Kyouka responded quickly.

"I made them some refrigerator magnets! With our pictures as a class of course." Toru said as she showed them from her backpack. They were all amazed by it, as they saw how much effort she put into it given how well it came out.

"I didn't really get them anything… just wanted to say hello like you guys." Asui admitted as the others acknowledged, it didn't mean that they needed to give gifts for their classmates, they were all here to visit them and it was for their benefit to get better rather than their own.

Though they were curious if anyone brought anything today.

"What about you Kirishima? Did you get them something?"

"I… uh, I wanted to get Midoriya some flowers, the ones she liked that is but I didn't have enough in my pocket to do so." He shyly said, something unusual for him as he was usually honest and lively for most of the time. The mention of flowers did turn some heads.

"Oh… so that's why you were asking about that last night… no wonder." Kyouka said with a raised eyebrow, as Kirishima felt confused at what she was going on with.

"Red Camelia flowers right? That's what Himiko told us." Momo said.

"For what reason… did you decide to try and get her flowers?" Mina teased as she poked him in the face. Kirishima feeling indifferent to what the girls were saying could only look at her with a puzzled face. Well, he was the only guy there for now as all the girls looked at him.

"I just wanted to repay what she did to me… that's all. What's so wrong about that?"

"Well… don't you know what giving flowers to a girl means?" Toru said.

"Dude… do you like her?" Kyouka said t break the ice.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid what she means is that are you romantically attracted to Izumi?" Momo said to clarify, Kirishima then looked at all of them and laughed.

"Oh come on guys, I just want to show her how thankful I was… it was a close call you know and she managed to save me just in time." He explained as they all recalled what happened.

"Yes… Izumi did give it her all to try and protect us." Momo said.

"So much so that she's here…" Mina added.

The memories threw a cloud of sadness over them as they thought about everything and how it led them now here, with their classmates still in hospital. Recovering… both emotionally and physically, especially the one who did it her all to protect them.

"Hey guys… can I just be honest with you all?" Mina said, surprising everyone given that she wasn't a fan of talking in times of sadness. She sighed and looked at all of them. "Izumi… she still isn't recovering. Isn't she? I feel like she hasn't yet, and even though we're there for her, she still hasn't opened up nor returned to the person she once was. She'll smile about it sure, and laugh but I could still see within her eyes that she's not okay. I feel like… she's still blaming everything on herself for what happened."

"It makes sense actually… those villains did say that she was the target. Not us… nor All Might." Asui said in all honesty, even though some of them frowned at her for saying it.

"I know… I do see it in her sometimes. Yesterday she and I talked for a moment and she would only respond to that what I was saying. She didn't open any conversation nor said anything else. That's… very unusual for her, knowing that she would talk for hours when she's comfortable." Kyouka added.

"Then what should we do about it? Plan a party? Do something big? We should find a way to cheer her up. We can't just let her go on like this." Toru replied as they all looked at her.

"Losing someone she cherished isn't going to be easy to recover from. You all saw how painful it was to her that Ms. Midnight died. Her mother doesn't even want to talk about it and she was in pain too." Momo said.

"But we have to try… we have to do something guys. Midoriya did so much for us in the USJ trying her damnest to protect us and keep those villains away." Kirishima suddenly said with a loud voice, gaining their attention. "We have to give something back. I won't just stand here and let her go on like this, I want her back to normal and I know all of you agree with me on that."

There was a silent moment that passed between them as they all knew that he was right.

"How do we do that though?" Asui said.

"We can maybe… take Izumi somewhere? When she's out of here that is. School is suspended for the whole week right?" Mina asked.

"Where to on that topic?" Toru added.

"We can't just get her somewhere that she won't enjoy or even smile at." Kyouka argued.

"Camping? That sounds fun? Ooh… maybe the beach! We can all be there for her on buying swimsuits!" Mina suggested with a grin.

"Mina… you do know that if she sees her scars, she will react to it right?" Momo said.

Mina deflated as the truth kicked her in.

"As much as I would like camping, I don't think that would be enough." Asui said.

"What does Midoriya like? Does anybody know where she likes to go outside of school?" Kirishima asked to all of them as they tried to think about it. Kyouka then recalled something that Himiko told her about the things that Izumi likes.

"Maybe somewhere… that has to do with Pro Heroes? Or maybe something like movies, comics… those stuff?" she suggested.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya is a sucker for those right? Bakugou even tells me about it." Kirishima said with a grin. Kyouka and Mina raised their eyebrows knowing that Katsuki wouldn't really say anything positive in regards to that.

"Anything about heroes or quirks. She geeks out so much that she mumbles about it without even thinking straight." Asui added.

"But doesn't UA already cover that? I mean she's already seen and got a visit from All Might." Toru asked as they all thought about it.

"Maybe somewhere else that features the same thing? Maybe even more?"

A few suggestions were thrown into the air as the group discussed about the topic for a few minutes. They were eventually joined by a few more of their classmates until a certain Mina Ashido decided to search on the internet for suggestions regarding their plan.

And with a wide smile she suddenly found the perfect place to get Izumi into.

* * *

10:03 Hours…

"Did you remember anything from what happened when you turned?" Shoto asked Izumi who was staring at a window while her fingers began fidgeting on reflex. He on the other hand was standing next to her, his eyes upon her as he waited for her reply.

"I only remember glimpses." She said with a low tone.

"Concrete ones?"

Izumi bit her lip as she looked at her hands. At first she subconsciously thought of activating her quirk at that very moment to show him something, but she immediately put that thought aside. She had fear over her own abilities and she was not comfortable at all trying to tell him how nightmarish her experience was during that fight.

Even if she didn't exactly remember half of it.

"No… they're disjointed. Like random screams and images being thrown in my head. I-I… I don't want to remember it. Nor even try to."

"Care to tell me why?" he pressed as Izumi looked up to meet his eyes.

"Why are you so curious?" Izumi asked, a bit piqued with what he asked of her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, I just wanted to know where exactly your mind was during that incident because ever since you've first tried to kill me in the Battle Trials, I've noticed… that his other side of you is a complete opposite of who you are."

Izumi suddenly blushed wildly at that statement. Both in embarrassment and in shame as she recalled that very first time she lost control over herself.

"I-I see…"

"Hey…" he said to her, as she looked up again. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I just want to know so something like these won't happen next time." He admitted to her as she found that statement reasonable.

She then thought about that very moment where she blacked out. Where she thought she died. She was… a bit thankful for that, her quirk kicking in the moment to save her, but for what came after, she felt a bit more apprehensive against it.

The fear she had ever since the Battle Trials was now at an all-time high.

"I can't really describe it. It's more like flashes… distorted memories of some kind." She then explained as she looked out the window. The rays of the sun illuminating her face as the clouds outside were building up against it.

"Has anybody told you what happened exactly during that small gap of time you were out of control?" Shoto added. Izumi shook her head in response.

"No… I don't think anyone has told me."

Shoto groaned in reply to her statement and explained to her.

"You were… animalistic in a sense. You didn't even speak, but you seemed to attack everyone in your vicinity the moment you took notice of them. Like a carnivore with a single-minded approach to things. You seemed to view both the villains and us as prey items."

The honest and brutal way he said that made Izumi quiet.

Suddenly she recalled voices in her head. Disembodied voices like her nightmares before.

All wanting something. Heeding one purpose as it would seem.

"Quirks." She then whispered.

"What?"

Izumi then looked at herself and thought about her vision sense. The prime thing she uses with her quirk and how it all connects to what she just said. A grim realization came to her, or rather a scary prospect that she hoped was false.

It was bad enough that she still had no idea what her quirk is…

And that grim theory made her question what the main purpose of her abilities was.

"Midoriya?"

"S-Sorry… I was just… overthinking things." She said as an excuse.

"Come to think of it, we've all heard what those villains wanted when they attacked us in UA grounds. It was you… and I'm confused as to why exactly." He said. Izumi looked at him and agreed. She too was confused as well, as she knew that only a few select people knew about her quirk, and for them to actually try and get her was something that crossed her mind during the attack.

Especially since her records in the official quirk diagnosis was 'Quirkless'. Even her application to the school, her medical records have been dubbed 'unverified' on that case, and she still got to be enrolled in UA. So if her actual records were never specified to what her quirk is, then how did they caught wind of her abilities?

Not even the Slime Villain incident was that much documented and it was only her using her red energy as a defensive weapon. Many more others had electricity properties, even her classmate Kaminari, and for them to single her out…

As well as the villain saying that it was her DNA that made that 'Nomu'…

It all amounted to her having more questions than answers.

A thought that she just now realized after Shoto brought it up to her.

"Me too…"

"Have your parents told you anything?" Shoto asked.

"Mom hasn't said anything about it… neither has All Might."

"That's strange… even if someone from the side of the villains did in fact see you in the Entrance Exam, I highly doubt that they would go on a pre-emptive strike against you. Their methods were all planned. Down to the last detail given how confident and strong their team was. If it wasn't for you… we would have all…" Shoto stopped knowing that saying it to her wouldn't help with her condition. He sighed as Izumi looked at him.

"Well, you know."

Izumi nodded with a bitter smile.

Wanting to change the topic, he suddenly sat next to her. The bench where Kaguya once sat on. The two women were talking to themselves as Shoto's sister excused them both. Something about trying to talk to Inko was what Kaguya told Izumi but the real reason was a combined thing that both women agreed upon. To have the two teens talk privately with each other.

They were still talking, but they mused that two teens would be better off on their own.

"Midoriya, you know I'm only bringing this up because as your classmate, I don't want any harm to befall on you. That goes to the rest of us, and even though I know it's painful… it would still help us to know what we need to do when the time comes."

"T-thanks." She said with a small smile at him. His expression never changed but the two had a mutual understanding born from the small relationship they shared ever since they first met, and all the way to them seeing each other again in UA.

"It's… weird hearing you comfort someone. Are you really this, uh dull on people you care about?" she teased to lighten the mood. Shoto looked at her and thought about it for a second.

"No… I don't think so." He muttered with a serious tone.

"I see… well, I'm thankful that you're here. That you've finally came to visit. I appreciate the thought you know, and you came here with your sister as well."

"She was the one who wanted me to go." He replied. Izumi frowned but he looked at her and responded back.

"Not that I didn't want to go… but my sister likes you, and she wanted to see you with me." He said, his tone still in a way of indifference, but his eyes sort of said otherwise…

"It's boring here though."

Sort of.

But Izumi giggled and elbowed his arm.

"Still, thanks…" she said to him as Shoto then noticed her bandaged arms. Recalling how much effort and damage she took just to save them. He wasn't there to actually see it happen like what the others said, but after she reverted he did in fact see them.

The scars sort of reminded him of his own on his eye.

Their circumstances different. Both painful memories, both of them having lost someone in their lives. He wasn't sure what to say to her given that his was more personal, but having known that Izumi lost a mother-figure in the form of Midnight made him relate to her in a way.

He also had to release some of his ego driven from hate coming from a certain person in his life.

He found it hard at first, but seeing that one person endured so much pain both physically and emotionally, he had to leave that side of him for now and try to help.

He wasn't sure why he wanted to help, but he would do so regardless.

"Todoroki…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry… if I hurt you when I lost control. Both times." She said to him.

"It doesn't matter. Both were accidents. I don't mind in the least."

"Still… I wanted us to be friends, hurting you wasn't part of it."

Friends. A word almost alien to him but the look he gave him the very first moment they met sort of returned at that moment.

"Like I said. Doesn't matter." He muttered as he looked away. Izumi smiled knowing his personality. She knew the meaning of personal space (at least when it didn't come from her obsession on quirks), and she would honor his.

"Oh I almost forgot…" Izumi said as she took the paper bag that Shoto brought that his sister said that came from both of them. A gift of sorts. She took it and saw that there was a book inside. She hadn't seen the title yet, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Whose idea was this?" she asked him.

"My sister. A way for her to repay you for the trouble."

"Heh… you mean that problem you had trying to get her something?"

He didn't reply as Izumi giggled. She then grabbed the book and saw that it was a certain book that Izumi had not read yet, and one of the last few pieces in her collection of high-fantasy books. One of Tolkien's work to be precise. The tale of Beren and Luthein. She smiled as she looked at Shoto.

"Thank you. Wow… didn't expect this."

"You like it?"

"Of course… say my thanks to your sister for me please."

He nodded as Izumi smiled. From the depths of her depression finally returned her albeit for a moment back to her original self.

"Also… thanks Shoto. This means a lot to me."

He grumbled in response as she giggled softly.

Not knowing that two women were hearing them close by. Amused in the twist of events.

"Thanks Ms. Todoroki." Kaguya said to the white-haired woman.

"Pleasure… and give my thanks to her as well. I haven't seen Shoto interact with people like this in a long time."

"That makes both of us." Kaguya said as they both agreed.

Meanwhile… the two teens started to talk once more (mostly in Izumi's case as Shoto continued to go on being silent) and they didn't notice that their classmates who were about to visit her had already arrived. With the addition of Himiko who was with them.

Izumi was surprised to see them all.

All of them in support, but the main thing that made her feel a little bit better was the fact that so many were there for her in her time of sadness.

As she reunited with her best friend, she thought that maybe she found herself restored.

She wasn't there yet given the loss of her aunt, but for now she would embrace the small peak of happiness amidst the storm clouds that were coming…

* * *

22:23 Hours, Kamino Ward…

Rain was pouring hard down on the dark alleys of the city.

A woman wearing a cap on her head was walking alone as she held on to her umbrella. Her bag and clothes soaked from the torrential rain that seemed to continue on without avail. Unfortunately for her, she needed to go home and seeing that the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon, she had to pull through regardless. Otherwise her career was at stake if she didn't get herself home anytime soon.

The lights in the street was dwarfed by its influence due to the rain. The droplets visible in the pale light as the winds flew by. Minimal cars moving against the road along with shops and establishments closing down. A few people were moving here and there in a situation similar to hers but it seemed like misfortune was getting the better of her as she proceeded to cautiously move through the rainy atmosphere, trying to insure that whatever was inside her bag was kept safe from the water.

Because if it got wet, she would certainly lose so much of her hard work from the past week.

So much of it done in sleepless nights. For the deadlines were tough and add the fact that there was supposed to be an event coming soon where she needed it all finished, it diminished her hard work to that of a painful experience both emotionally and physically.

Yet she continued on. Knowing that this was her passion. Her drive in life that moved her forward. Her dream that she was willing to push regardless of the circumstance.

She still hoped for success with her work eventually. Thinking that this would be the start for now, and she will find that moment soon where her hard work was repaid in full with smiles.

At least… that's what she thought.

Misfortune seemed to seep in her life the moment she pursued her dream and misfortune yet again was forcing her into the situation she was in now.

She walked slowly as the splashes of water soiled her pants and her blouse. Soaking it continuously as she continued on down the street. Each step as if the rains were worsening, making it feel like life was playing a practical joke on her.

She still managed to hold on strong amidst it however, thinking that she would be fine the moment she would arrive at her apartment. Her small but at least usable apartment. She kept on saying it to herself until a car swerved past her.

Leaving a trail of water that once again made her wet.

She stopped for a second as the sudden occurrence made her heart pulsate in anger.

She sighed to it though, not wanting to waste her time on saying anything bad that would already worsen her condition as of that moment. She continued on with her soaked shoes as she walked. Each step having a small sound as her socks moved against her wet skin. Her feet producing a squeaking sound that made her annoyed…

Yet she carried on.

As she looked up at the street lights, the rain was so strong that she could barely see where she was and within that moment as she stopped. Her bag already far too wet for comfort that her heart and emotions were rallying on giving up.

She looked at herself, thinking that it was a bad decision going out here in the rain.

Lightning crackled behind her, as if to respond to her thoughts.

The thunder didn't even make her flinch as she thought how stupid it was of a decision to get her where she was now. It also meant that her hopes were for naught as she looked at herself. Her blue umbrella barely even containing the deluge with how strong the downpour was.

She sighed once more and thought about maybe finding some shade for a moment.

Her laptop would be fine for a moment, the bag was wet and so was most of her belongings, but it didn't matter since she kept it mostly in a position that would leave it less wet than the rest of her things. It would have worked if she had arrived quicker to her home than she thought of, unfortunately within the storm, it seemed like she was lost and every second her laptop would be wet from the excursion and it would likely short-circuit and destroy all the hard work she had done in the past week.

Quite the conundrum as she would say.

Her career isn't even something that was relatively high-paying nor something she gets that much fame out of. Her fanbase was small and given how high the cost of living in Japan was, she inadvertently made things worse for her the moment she migrated into this country. She did alternate with another job of hers, but her gig trying to craft mangas while also writing them was the main thing she focused on.

It was a dream of hers ever since she was a kid and her mother side was also Japanese that immigrated into Russia decades ago, so in a way she wanted to honor her family roots to try and return to their motherland.

She did not expect how hard it was however and her short three year stay ever since she moved into this country took a lot more out of her than what she intended.

She thought of trying to write a light novel of sorts, but it would overload her already untidy mess of a schedule. All in all, the woman known as Natasha Yui Moskvin lived a hard life trying to pursue her dream that she promised to her mother.

**SPLASH!**

Another car drove past her, being that she was deep in thought, she was now soaked to the bone because of it. Even the bag was now wet all over. Making her sigh once more.

Her heart beating hard from all the misfortunes she had that day.

She wanted to say something as she looked at around her. The rain worsening so much that she would only stand there trying desperately to dry herself as the cold winds blew through her.

So much was going on her mind.

Feelings of anger that she wanted to scream out.

Feelings of utter guilt and entrapment to this life of hers tore away at her.

But she wouldn't.

She was a decent person and even on the worst day of her life she would try to remain as one. Even if the world battered her so much at that current moment, she would push through. Knowing that the sun would come out for her someday.

**SPLASH!**

She stomped the ground forcefully. The only way she could vent off the anger.

Maybe it was a pipe dream.

"Just go home… just get yourself home." she whispered to herself as she looked at where she was. The streetlight glowing down on her like a scene out of an old film. The spotlight on her. Maybe it was. She didn't know what to think as she tried to look for somewhere to get some shade as well as to dry herself in before heading home. The laptop would be fine.

She just had to wash the uneasiness and stress away, like how the water streamed down into the canal across the street.

She mused to herself that maybe she was overthinking things.

With a calm demeanor returning to her, she then started to walk again to get herself out of the rain. Until she realized that across the street, with the rains going on in full…

She noticed someone standing there.

A man perhaps.

He was looking at her as it would seem. She couldn't exactly see where he was facing but based on the way his body looked while standing there, it would seem that she was the focus of his vision.

His clothes were something she couldn't tell out of the situation she was in, but she did notice one odd thing about the person and that was he was standing there in the rain…

With no umbrella.

While being in the middle of the street, watching her.

She then mused to herself that she was probably thinking things. Maybe the guy had a bad day like her. She then proceeded to wave at the man and gave a thumbs up in a sarcastic way before leaving.

As she proceeded, within three to four steps she heard footsteps behind her.

She shook her head thinking that maybe someone was walking the street like her so she didn't mind it. Unfortunately, as she walked further she noticed that the man she saw in the street light moments ago while bathing in the rain was following her across the street opposite to her.

She then felt a bit scared seeing that as she stopped. Hoping that the person would just continue on ahead. However, as she did so…

So did the man.

She kept her eyes on the person. Feeling a bit scared as she thought about the recent report of various persons going missing all around the country. Things like villains resurging under the brow of Pro Heroes was a staple topic of the week. Especially since that encounter All Might had days ago.

She hoped that it wasn't the case as she looked at the man who was still eerily staring at her.

A crackle of lightning and thunder moved past her as she stood her ground.

Maybe she should ask the person? Tell him to leave her be?

Unfortunately, she was far too nervous to say anything as she looked at the man.

She didn't want to stand there and do nothing as well too. So she tried to calm herself down and try to reach for her phone to maybe call the police, or hope that a Pro Hero would come by on patrol to save her.

She was about to get her phone when she heard a voice behind her.

"Moskvin… right?"

She instantly turned. Having heard her name.

But before she could react, she felt something hit her in the face…

Knocking her out cold as darkness took over her.

…

_"We've confirmed that this is the one on the list sir."_

_ "How sure?"_

_ "Positive. We've already seen them."_

_ "Her quirk?"_

_ "Yes… and the boss would be pleased to have her as a test subject. Turning her into a Nomu would be useful given how her quirk works."_

A sensation of someone taking off her clothes was felt. Rough hands caressing her as she felt the air bite down on her skin. Making it cold.

Her mind was still in a large daze. Confusion and so many questions emerged.

She wanted to open her eyes soon.

But the voices continued.

_"What does her quirk do? I feel curious as she was placed very high on that list when she looks so overly fragile and weak."_

_ "I don't know the specifics… but it's definitely big… especially these."_

She then felt someone trying to flip her body over to look at her back.

That's when her eyes momentarily opened. Still confused as to where she was. The floor moving… like she was in a van or a vehicle with blacked out windows.

She then trailed her eyes downwards towards the voices.

Seeing two men gawking at her near-naked form. Her blouse opened and her bra exposed as they looked at her back. They had masks on and another person was driving the vehicle they were in.

"That's certainly interesting… I suppose." The voice replied.

Natasha suddenly felt a jolt of adrenaline flowing through her as she realized where she was. The headwear covering the top of her head being missing as the two men noticed what looked like a moth's antennae standing up in attention.

"She's awake." One of the men said almost in panic.

"I thought I told you to stun her for a few hours!" the other man said to the driver.

"I did!" the driver replied as one of the man leaned over to her. Her hands bound on what felt like zip locks behind her. She panicked instantly as she saw him go close to her. Her antennae standing up.

"W-WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!"

"Calm down. It'll all go away soon." The man said.

"Please… d-don't hurt me." She said in fear.

"Well… looks like we don't need to worry about her. She's far too spooked, we could do anything we like while we deliver her to the boss." The driver said.

"The boss doesn't want damaged goods you bastard." The other person that was guarding her said in an annoyed tone.

"D-Don't… kill me." She pleaded.

The two then looked at each other and laughed.

Natasha felt confused as she looked at them, her deep indigo-colored eyes heaving out emotions left and right. Fear embraced her as she felt herself inch away.

"Don't worry miss… you won't be killed. Though I doubt the experience will be anything other than similar…" the other one said as he laughed.

She couldn't take this.

She was scared, but she didn't want to end like this.

Was she going to be killed?

Was she going to be raped?

What will happen to her?

All of those questions racing her mind frantically as it all went to overdrive. She then started muttering incoherently in fear. Words going over each other in quick succession. The definitive trait that she inherited from her mother's side.

Her antennae suddenly glowed weakly in the color of blue.

Something within her quirk awakened.

Something she would only discover now.

After she continued on saying multiple things over and over, the two started to get annoyed.

"Get her to shut up." The other one ordered.

The other guy then looked at her and slapped her on the face without warning.

She immediately stopped. Tears on her face as the man held on to her shoulders. He then started to tell something to her as her mind suddenly got overwhelmed by her own inner voice.

It continued on and on…

Making the sounds around her mindscape distorted as the man tried to scream at her while she stared blankly with a terrified look on her face.

Screams started to come.

But it all stopped when she muttered one word.

_**"Quell"**_

"What did she say?" the driver said.

Suddenly a flash of blue light sparked into the vehicle. Light so intense that it managed to penetrate the thick tinted covers of the window as it reflected outside. The light was so visceral that It rendered everyone in her vicinity into a stunned state.

Even the driver who looked for only a second became motionless.

The vehicle then drove around aimlessly as the light vanished as fast as it appeared.

Natasha suddenly got her bearings back as she then noticed that the two people in front of her froze, their eyes suddenly in a similar color to hers. She then noticed that her antennae were glowing slightly to the color of blue and her wings… which was part of the genetic makeup of her quirk were opened widely. Her moth-like wings that was in the intense color of blue were wide open much to her surprise. She didn't understand what happened, as her quirk was merely something that would allow her to fly and have slight similarities to the physiology of a moth.

Then the next moment further made her shocked.

Because as she looked back at her captors, blood was sprayed on her face.

**SPLAT!**

One of them had stabbed themselves in the neck with what appeared to be a sharp appendage that was caused by his quirk. He gurgled in his own blood as it sprayed all over her.

She didn't understand the situation as she backed away in fear.

The vehicle swerving and turning because nobody was driving while at it.

She screamed as the other one then tried to bash his head on the walls of the vehicle. Banging intensely as the driver in the back looked blankly on the road.

Natasha screamed as this occurred until one of the tires hit a curb…

And the vehicle flipped over.

She was thrown all over inside as the vehicle crashed into a wall. The driver's head bashing itself on the windshield as the other man cracked his neck. Falling close to her in a thud.

Natasha felt that she had bruises on her arms and legs as she tried to discern what just happened.

The rain outside continuing to pour as she laid eyes on the one who stabbed himself in the neck now looking at her while he bled out before dying in front of her.

Blood trickling down her face as the silence returned.

The sound of the rain outside tapping the vehicle as she sat there shocked and surprised.

She didn't know what happened.

She didn't understand what could have caused them to seemingly commit suicide the moment the light dissipated from her antennae and wings.

She just sat there in silence…

Eventually a Pro Hero and a few paramedics and police managed to find her in the crash.

But one thought remained in her head.

That being that this was just an accident.

A bad day…

END OF VOLUME II CHAPTER 1

* * *

**AN: Hello fellow readers. It's here, we have now reached to another new arc and another new volume for this story. This was a slow start for sure, but I'm very pleased to say that things will kick into overdrive once we reach the next one. I did say in the past that we need one short arc before Sports Festival starts and that arc is here. I won't spoil much about what this arc entails actually as in the end this will test Izumi to the limit while also trying to regain the lost composure, determination, and belief in herself that would funnel into her developing herself as a character as we go into the aforementioned games (which I am really excited to write about given the plans I've written for it).**

**We will also take a deep dive with how the consequences of what happened in the last volume's ending would affect those of Izumi's life in this afterwards. The road will be long and hard, but it would surely make for Izumi to regain her foothold in trying to be the best as she would be.**

**You will also notice that a small hint to her past has been given in the start of this fic. Hehe.**

**The ending as well will be core plotpoint in this new short arc. As this will ultimately be Izumi's major hurdle in trying to regain herself to be as she once was…**

**I hope you will stay tuned for next time guys! Bye.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: "Road of Restoration" – Izumi is lost in the myriad of guilt and problems that plagued her after the USJ incident. Her classmates will try their best to bring her back by organizing a trip together to a place that they hope would return her to her former self. Meanwhile, Inko and Toshinori are trying their best along with UA on assessing and fixing the damage control brought out by what happened both in Aldera and in the USJ. Numerous questions are going to be asked and numerous problems will sprout out as the danger surrounding Izumi's secret worsens. Amidst all of this, in the annals of her mindscape... a certain person returns that would put Izumi in tears. Whether if it was real or not, she would need to accept what happened to Nemuri soon or her own quirk will consume her from the inside out.**

**Sidestory #17 COMING SOON…**


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